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A Yankee Bachelor 
Abroad 



•o+e> 



A " Wee Bit " of Wit and Fun and Some Sober 

Facts Gathered During My Fourteen 

Months' Sojourn in the British 

Isles and Some Parts 

of the Continent 



CHAS. J. BUTLER 
1901 



THE U8RARV OF 

CONGRESS, 
Two Comes Received 

NOV. 8 1901 

COPVHIGMT ENTRY 

CLASS a XXc, No. 

% o <r & s~ 
copy a 



Copyright! 1901 
By Charles <J . Butler 



'V* 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 



PREFACE 



PREQUENTLY I have heard the remark made 
that those returning home from their first 
visit to Europe have a keen edge on their de- 
sire to again visit those lands across the sea. 

I found it so in my case and embraced the first op- 
portunity that presented itself. 

After a sojourn of fourteen months in the British 
Isles and some parts of the continent, I bring to the 
reader a few bundles of facts, through which I have 
spun some humorous threads, and others that to some 
may seem rather sober. 

These bundles may not be tied as neatly as some 
would have tied them, but the reader I trust will 
kindly take the contents without criticising the wrap- 
pings. C. J. BUTLER. 

Sept. 4, 1 90 1. 



Chapter i. 
Chapter 2. 
Chapter 3. 
Chapter 4. 
Chapter 5. 
Chapter 6. 
Chapter 7. 
Chapter 8. 
Chapter 9. 
Chapter 10. 
Chapter 1 1. 
Chapter 12. 
Chapter 13. 
Chapter 14. 
Chapter 15. 



Chapter 16. 
Chapter 17. 
Chapter 18. 
Chapter 19. 
Chapter 20. 
Chapter 21. 
Chapter 22. 
Chapter 23. 
Chapter 24. 
Chapter 25. 
Chapter 26. 
Chapter 27. 
Chapter 28. 
Chapter 29. 
Chapter 30. 
Chapter 31. 
Chapter 32. 
'Chapter 33. 
Chapter 34. 
Chapter 35. 
Chapter 36. 
Chapter 37. 



CONTENTS 

Page 

Voyage Across the Atlantic 7 

Bonnie Scotland 20 

En route for Stirling 29 

The Old Castle 32 

Bannockburn 43 

The Quaint Old Town of C 51 

Trip to Aberdeen 61 

Ireland 74 

Blarney Castle 83 

Dublin 86 

The Custom House and Four Courts 89 

Bank of Ireland and Trinity College 98 

Hospitals and Parks 102 

Breaking Out of the South African War ... no 
The Dublin Horse Show and a Trip to the 

Old Farm 114 

Kingston and Bray 123 

The Queen's Visit to Ireland 127 

The Landing of the Queen 131 

The Queen in Dublin 138 

Belfast 143 

Some of the Churches , 148 

'My Return to Belfast 161 

Some Witty Boys I 'Met 164 

Some Sad as Well as Amusing Sights 171 

Belfast During the War in South Africa 176 

Some Witty Sayings Heard in Ireland 180 

Some Incidents in Mission Work 183 

Some Persons I met in Traveling 196 

Bangor and Carrickfergus 205 

Port Rush and Giants' Causeway 209 

Portadown, Lurgan, Bessbrook and Lisbon 215 

England 220 

Bedford 240 

Dover and Margate, Seaside Resorts 275 

A Visit to the Slums of London 318 

My Trip to Paris 332 

Leaving Old England 353 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD 



CHAPTER I. 

VOYAGE ACROSS THE ATLANTIC. 

IT yees down on the wishin' chair, and give 
three wishes before yees get up, and they'll all 
come thrue," said a typical old Irish woman to 
me at the Giant's Causway, while on a visit to Old 
Ireland in the summer of 1894. 

"Well, aunty," I replied, "just to please you, I will." 
As I seated myself on this stone, encircled by three 
others which nature had so formed as to strikingly 
resemble a chair, I said to her : 

"My first wish is to get up, for it is wet down here." 
That wish is soon coming true. 

"Oh, don't yees be gettin' up until yees have made 
three," she said. With a small grain of faith in the 
old lady's prophecy of wishes coming true by sitting 
on this stone, I hurriedly made two others. One of 
them was that Old Ocean would treat me kindly on 
my homeward trip and pass me safely over to my. 
friends in Old America. But I had scarcely com- 
mitted myself to her care when she lost her temper 
and for three days wreaked out vengeance on me. I 
began to think that this wish would be a complete fail- 



8 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

lire, but she finally calmed down and treated me fairly- 
well the rest of the voyage. The other was that I 
might again have the pleasure of visiting historic old 
England, Bonnie Scotland and the beautiful Emerald 
Isle. 

That wish was a long time coming to pass. Not 
until the early part of the summer of 1889 did the op- 
portunity come for me to embark for that land be- 
yond the broad Atlantic. When I stepped on the 
wharf in New York with my luggage, the little 
Scotch official gathering up his paste pot and lables, 
walked up to me and said, "Have your luggage 
marked 'wanted' or 'not wanted?' " 

"Wanted !" I replied. If he had known they were 
the belongings of a Bachelor he would not have ques- 
tioned me as to whether I would have them put in the 
hold of the ship or taken to my stateroom. For what 
member of the worthy order of Bachelors in packing 
his bundle would think of placing any article in it but 
that which he deems necessary for present use? • 

The accommodations of the steamer had been 
painted in very glowing colors by the agent from 
whom I purchased my ticket. When I stepped on 
board and presented my ticket to the steward, he said 
to one of the assistants, "Take this gentleman to No. 
7 in the 'Whale Back.' " I had only followed him a 
short distance when my visions of greandeur began to 
fade away, and before reaching No. 7 they had en- 
tirely vanished. The 'Whale Back' was a large room 
spanning the stern of the ship just over the immense 
propellers. There were two tiers of berths encircling 
this unattractive looking place. The iron girders 
were so exposed on the sides of the vessel that if one 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 9 

was thrown from his berth by the motion of the craft 
and came in contact with them he would find himself 
in sections. 

"What do you call this?" I inquired of the assistant. 

"It's the whale back, sir," he replied. 

"Well," I remarked, "when Jonah took his sea voy- 
age to Tarshish he had more comfortable quarters in 
the other part of the anatomy of the whale. He had 
a private room at least." 

"Well, sir," he said, "you are only one of the many 
that has made complaint, but the steamer is very much 
crowded and this is the best we can do for you." 

I hurried off to the wharf and inquired of one of the 
officials what I would forfeit by not sailing - , and he said 
very briefly: "Your whole ticket, sir." So I con- 
cluded to return to the whale back and make the best 
of it. As I surveyed my quarters and thought of the 
eight days, at least, which I would have to spend 
there and be subject to the rough treatment that old 
ocean was likely to give me and would have not only 
my own account to look over when Neptune came 
around, but that of my eight or ten roommates, I con- 
fess I was not in a very cheerful frame of mind. 

One of my roommates had laid in a large supply of 
"old rye." He had not only his bottles filled, but was 
well stocked himself. His berth was below mine and 
I concluded if I inhaled the fumes of the article he had 
so freely imbibed I might find myself in the same 
tangled condition. 

"All ashore that's goin'," shouted one of the ship's 
crew. There was a general shaking of hands and a 
brushing away of tears by those bidding farewell to 
friends. Soon the huge whistle blew, the shore lines 



io A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

were cast off and two tugs bore our ship from her 
moorings. We hurried down past the great docks 
rilled with crafts from all parts of the world. Sopn 
the tall buildings and spires of the greater New York 
began to fade away. We bade adieu to the Statue of 
Liberty and soon the shores of New Jersey and Long 
Island were lost to sight. When the shades of night 
settled down upon us we were far out on the bosom 
of he great deep. 

"I understand you are not pleased with your room," 
said the little Scotch steward to me as I met him on 
deck. 

"No, sir, I am not," I replied; "there is too much 
of it." 

"Well, I have a berth in a room in another part of 
the steamer if you wish to make a change." 

"Any place would be preferable to the 'whale 
back," I replied. I soon had my luggage packed 
away in my new quarters which I found more com- 
fortable. 

My roommates were two Irishmen who were going 
back home on a visit. They, like my former room- 
mates, had anticipated a "dry spell" and had provided 
bountifully for it. One of them was a man on the 
shady side of sixty and, although "Father Time" had 
left his marks on him, he had not robbed of his youth- 
ful spirit. The other was on the sunny side of forty 
and was the real essence of wit and fun. The old man 
brought out a large bottle of whisky and proposed 
opening it in honor of the new arrival, and pouring 
out a heavy draught in a glass he urged me to take a 
"wee drap of the crater." 
I immediately ran up my temperance flag and said to 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. ir 

them, "I have seen too many crafts wrecked along the 
coast of intemperance to ever think of sailing in that 
direction." 

"Well, yees air better laven it alone than takin' it," 
they said. They thought, however, they were better 
taking it, and that quite often. Aside from their 
weakness for the bottle, they were very agreeable 
companions. 

Shortly after my removal I heard voices pitched in 
a very high key near my stateroom, one voice so much 
so that I thought it was near the fighting point. On 
opening my door I found it was a big, burly Irishman 
and the wee Scotch steward. I concluded if the Irish- 
man laid violent hands on the wee Scotchman there 
would not be enough left of the latter to perform his 
duties. Bnt the wee man, however, seemed to think 
that the huge fellow would simply use his tongue and 
not his fists, and kept insisting on him going to the 
purser's office to have a matter attended to which he 
deemed necessary. The difficulty, I thought, might 
be settled by arbitration, so I set about to fix it up 
that way. But the Irishman gave me a look that led 
me to think my services were not required, and that 
if I continued to offer them I might get a discolored 
eye. Nevertheless, I was undaunted and finally rea- 
soned him into complying with the steward's request. 
We thought we would find him a very troublesome 
character for he was so generous with his tongue. 
But he proved, however, to be quite an agreeable fel- 
low and entertained with his amusing stories the little 
company gathered about him on deck. 

"I have lived in America for ten years," he said, 
"but I have never been able to get me old woman and 



12 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

the children to leave Ireland, so I manage to go over 
once a year to see them," and added : "The first time 
I went to America we encountered a dreadful storm 
and we all thought we were about to be lost and every 
one began to pray except myself, and I didn't believe 
in death-bed repentances. I thought I would die as I 
wrought, but made up my mind if I ever got ashore 
not to leave my prayin' till a time like that, and I've 
been a prayin' man ever since." 

He and another man were conversing on the sub- 
ject of religion one day. The man said : "Well, I am 
not afraid of the devil ever harming me." 

"Well, my friend," he replied, "just take my advice 
and keep your distance from his Satanic Majesty." 

When we saw the little dining room I think we all 
had a suspicion it would not accommodate the entire 
company at one time. The most of us were on the 
alert for the summons to the first table and when it 
came there was a general looking out for number 
one. On the faces of those who failed to make the 
objective point there was an expression akin to that 
which takes possession of a boy's face when bidden to 
wait until the invited guests have taken the edge off 
their appetite. If the company gathered around the 
table gave thanks for the food set before them, they 
were soon in a different frame of mind. For many 
of them began weaving threads of complaint through 
their conversation about the accommodations and the 
service. 

"We have no water or linen in our room," said a 
young man sitting near me. 

"How do you keep your face so clean?" inquired a 
Woman sitting opposite. 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 13 

"Oh," he replied, "we have a sponge attached to a 
string and drop it overboard and we each take turns 
mopping off our faces." 

This remark caused a roar of laughter. 

The complaint of an Irishman sitting near me was a 
national one. "Your government," he said, "put its 
hand down in my pocket and lifted a five dollar bill 
for your war tax. I had nothing to do with your 
war. I protested, but your government was too 
strong for me." 

"Well," I answered, "we had to pay for a leave of 
absence to visit your side of the Atlantic and I am 
sure we did not turn our cash into the United States 
treasury with any better grace than you did." 

"I have been over to your country," resumed the 
Irishman, "to try and get into some business, but 
failed, and now I'm going back to Ireland to take my 
chances of slowly getting rich there." 

One day I was absent from the table and met him 
coming from the dining-room. "Ye missed it to- 
day," he said. "We had chicken and it was very an- 
tiquated. I'm blest if it wasn't the same old rooster 
that gave St. Peter all the bother." 

"It was a great saving, then, to my teeth," I re- 
plied. 

I was greatly amused at the different conversations 
I listened to on deck. A young Irishman told a story 
of two Englishmen who visited Ireland, and 
thinking to have a little fun at the expense of an old 
man whom they met, said to him : 

"Paddy, did you know the devil was dead?" 

"Why, no," said Paddy, "is he dead? Well, if he 
is, here's a couple of pennies for each of yees; it is 



14 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

customary to help the orphans in our country." The 
Englishman took their change and passed on. 

We had a number of Irish and Scotch lads and las- 
sies on board who were returning to their native land. 
Some of them were very interesting characters. One 
young man said to me : 

"I have been living in America for a number of 
years and am going back home for the first time. I 
can scarcely wait for the days to pass, I am so anxious 
to look into the face of my dear old mother living 
in the north of Ireland." 

Among these young people I found a strong love 
for the old home. There were two lads and lassies 
who formed the acquaintance of each other on com- 
ing on ship board who interested as well as amused 
us. Their friendship seemed to ripen so quickly and 
they demonstrated it in such a striking manner as to 
lead us to think that instead of looking up their friends 
when they landed they would seek the services of a 
clergyman to tie the nuptial knot. Judging from the 
appearances of the quartette they were ancient enough 
to have had several similar attacks. True love with 
the Scotch lad and lassie did not seem to run very 
smoothly. One day we saw him sitting alone and she 
with the Irish couple. In passing I said to her : 

"He looks rather disconsolate." She replied in 
broad Scotch: 

"He does na speak noo. He's a wee bit huffy. 
But it does na matter." But a little later on we saw 
them patching up the difficulty and they were soon 
again basking in the warm sunshine of love. 

There was a young man with an imaginary large 
head and had it filled with borrowed ideas, and sat 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 15 

on deck and aired them quite freely. One day as he 
was denouncing Christianity, an Irishman said to him : 

"Now, yees don't mean to say ye do not believe in 
God, do yees?" 

Spreading- himself out and looking very wise, he 
said : "I will not say." 

"Oh, he would not want to be classed among those 
men that the Psalmist speaks of as saying there is no 
God," said another man standing near. He evi- 
dently had read that part of the Scripture referred to, 
for his face flushed with anger and lifting his hat, said 
sarcastically : 

"Oh, I did not know I was in the presence of such 
a wise man." 

"Just wise enough to believe in the existence of a 
God," the man replied. This man and the Irishman 
turned such an avalanche of truth on this "wise" 
young man that completely silenced him and we heard 
no more of his notions of which Tom Paine and 
other noted infidels had furnished him. 

On Sabbath morning we had divine service in the 
saloon, several different denominations being repre- 
sented. A celebrated clergyman from Brooklyn, N. 
Y., preached a plain, practical sermon from the text, 
"What is that in thine hand?" — Exodus 4:2. The 
most of us, I think, carried away thoughts that will 
be helpful all through life. There were several fine 
voices in the audience and as they joined in with those 
less talented along that line and sang "Nearer, my 
God, to Thee" and "Jesus, lover of my soul" and other 
familiar hymns, many of us were conscious of the 
presence of Him who in the days of his flesh calmed 
the stormy sea, and we trusted would, by His unseen 



16 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

hand, guide our craft across the treacherous Atlantic, 
safe into Firth of Clyde. 

The weather had been very fine until reaching the 
banks of Newfoundland, and there we encountered a 
dense fog which is so common in that locality. The 
doleful sound of the fog horn made one fell like being 
on terra firma, and especially so when we were in- 
formed that icebergs were frequently seen at this 
point. Just after running through a great fog bank 
we saw one of those formidable mountains of ice bear- 
ing down upon us, causing great excitement on the 
steamer. Some of us viewed it through field-glasses. 
It was a beautiful sight, especially so when the sun 
broke through the clouds and glistened on its brow. 
It was estimated to be about fifty feet high. In the 
presence of this huge lump of ice we found the ther- 
mometer running down, causing overcoats and wraps 
to be in demand. As darkness settled down upon us, 
another dense fog came with it and most of the night 
the fog horn broke the awful silence out on that great 
waste of water, reminding us we were still in the mist. 
Most of us felt rather uncomfortable lest our ship 
might come in contact with one of those great fields 
of ice. The report was current the next morning that 
we ran dangerously near two immense ones. A 
sailor informed us that they were about two hundred 
feet high, but we thought to knock off a few feet 
would be more accurate. 

Just after crossing the Banks we encountered what 
the sailors called a ground swell, and our ship rolled 
heavily. Up to this time old Neptune had treated us 
very kindly but now began to make it rather uncom- 
fortable. He made heavy demands on very many. I 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 17 

heard them loudly protesting, but it availed nothing ; 
the demand had to be met. Knowing something of my 
liberality on my former trip across, he came around 
for my contribution, and in order to keep up my rep- 
utation as a generous giver laid my entire stock at 
his feet, and keenly felt my impoverished condition 
the remainder of the voyage. 

About the fourth day from New York brought us 
out into mid ocean, 1500 miles from either shore. 
Looking out over that dreary waste of water I con- 
cluded if our ship failed us, our chances for reaching 
shore were not very hopeful. Taking this extreme 
northerly course, we seldom sighted a vessel. About 
the only sign of life we saw outside of our craft were 
schools of whales sporting about who frequently 
turned on their hose and tossed great sheets of water 
towards the clouds. But we hardly thought any of 
them were as friendly as the one who took Jonah in 
and sheltered him for three days and finally landed 
him safely on shore. 

"I did not think it so great an undertaking to cross 
the Atlantic," said a young man to me one day as our 
ship was tossing to and fro. I am enroute for South 
Africa, to be absent from home for two years, and I 
wish I was homeward bound. I have been ill since 
the first day out and if I continue in this condition un- 
til I reach South Africa, am afraid there will not be 
much left of me to bring back to America." 

"Well," I replied, "I do not envy you your voyage 
of 10,000 miles. Keeping the same mind I have now, 
if I land my tall form back in Yankee land will be con- 
tent to keep it there." But I am now in a different 

2 



18 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

frame of mind and would roll up my bundle and em- 
bark again if the opportunity offered. 

Among the children that played on deck was a fine 
looking little boy about eight years old. The chil- 
dren styled him "English." No one seemed to know 
to whom he belonged until we were about three days 
out from New York. Then a tall, handsome man and 
a neat, trim-looking little woman made their appear- 
ance on deck and they were pointed out as the parents 
of the boy. Well, we thought if they were, their 
honeymoon was holding out well, for they were as at- 
tentive to each other as a young couple who had just 
contracted the fever. But it was quite understood 
when one of the ship's crew informed us they were 
under arrest and had been locked up in their rooms 
since leaving port. She had lifted some of her hus- 
band's hard earned cash and had gone off with a 
"handsome man," taking her boy with her. But there 
was a cablegram preceded them to America, and they 
were met by an officer of the law who informed them 
there was some objection to their settling in U. S. A. 
The trio were therefore shipped back to the town in 
England from whence they came. On our arrival at 
Greenock a huge fellow dressed in uniform came on 
board and introduced himself as a committee of one 
to welcome them back to their native land, and they 
were hurried away to taste a wee bit of English justice. 
I met a man shortly afterward of the same town from 
which they came, who informed me that they were 
both snugly quartered in the old prison where, I pre- 
sume, they had time to reflect on their failure to set- 
tle in America. 

One evening while pacing the deck, anxious to hear 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 19 

the welcome shout, "Land ahead !" I said to one of 
the sailors, "When will we sight land?" 

"To-morrow morning, sir, quite early," was his re- 
ply. 

We were on deck early casting our eyes out over 
the stretch of water, trying to catch a glimpse of old 
Ireland. And what a thrill of joy came to the ship's 
company as some one discovered the faint outlines of 
the mountains and sea cliffs of the County Donegal. 
There were some very ominous looking clouds skirt- 
ing the horizon, and as we ran along that wild, rocky 
coast, they seemed to be touching the brow of those 
huge mountains and cliffs. The first sign of life we 
saw outside of our ship were three Irish lasses stand- 
ing at the base of one of the great cliffs, waving a wel- 
come to us. Many of our passengers were to land at 
Moville and be taken by the tender up the beautiful 
river Foyle to Londenderry. Just as we ran into the 
quiet little harbor the clouds grew very dark, and as 
the passengers were filing aboard of this odd looking 
craft with scarcely any shelter, we had an exhibition of 
good old Irish weather. The rain fell in great sheets. 
While many of these people might have believed in 
sprinkling, yet immersion seemed to be the order of 
the day. As we saw them steam away we did not 
envy them their uncomfortable ride. The prow of 
our craft was soon turned toward Bonnie Scotland. 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 



CHAPTER II. 

BONNIE SCOTLAND 

^wPHO has not desired to see Bonnie Scotland? 
VXy Especially one who has read the history of 
this grand old country ; or read the discrip- 
tion of it given by the different poets? 

Sir Walter Scott in his poetical works describes 
Scotland in a beautiful and graphic manner. Who, 
after reading his poem, entitled "The Lady of the 
Lake," would not wish to visit that section of the 
country in which he gathered his inspiration for that 
excellent production? One day, while standing at 
the foot of Ben Ledi, a huge mountain lifting its head 
3000 feet above the level of the sea, at whose base is 
Loch Lubnaig, a magnificent sheet of water, I said to 
my friend, Jackson: "I am not surprised that Scott 
caught an inspiration amid the grandeur of this spot." 
As I rode from Callander to the Trossachs, a dis- 
tance of eight miles, passing the Brig of Turk on the 
way and beheld the grandeur of that mountain scenery 
and then took the little steamer and rode to the head 
of Loch Katrine, a beautiful sheet of water, sand- 
wiched between the mountains lifting their heads up 
nearly 3000 feet, I did not wonder that a man with the 
poetical nature of Scott could amid that magnificent 
scenery clothe his thoughts in fine language and pass 
them out to be read and admired by all lovers of 
poetry. And with the picture in my mind of the 
troasceh and the beautiful city of Edinburgh and vi- 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 21 

cinity and other parts of Scoland which I visited, I 
am not surprised that the Scotch are proud of their 
country, and I join with them in calling it Bonnie 
Scotland. I found the Scotch people as a rule very 
cautious and rather slow afcout taking you into their 
confidence until they learned something of your his- 
tory, but when once they become your friend, you can 
usually depend on them. 

A few hours' ride brought us into the Firth of 
Clyde. The great hills which peeped out through the 
mist that gathered all about them gave us some idea 
of the grandeur of the scenery that stretches all along 
on either side of this river. At the base, and terraced 
on the sides of many of these hills, were beautiful lit- 
tle towns, some of them summer resorts. We were 
several hours steaming up the Clyde and at 9.30 P. 
M. we dropped the huge anchor just opposite the old 
town of Greenock, built on the side of a hill lifting its 
head far above the Clyde. We remained on board 
over night and early next morning every one donned 
tkeir best suit and were in readiness for the little ten- 
der which conveyed us to the landing, a short distance 
away. Just before we left the steamer, a fellow with 
whom I had occasionally conversed during the voy- 
age, came to me and said : 

"I have more cigars with me than the law will allow. 
Will you take some ashore with you, and I will get 
them from you after we pass the custom house." 

"Excuse me," I said, "I am not smuggling anything 
for myself, and am not in the business for any one 
else." We left him planning how he would get the 
best of the English government. 

On landing we were met and questioned by the offi- 



22 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

cials as to whether we had any spirits or tobacco. 
"We have not," was our reply. "Do you wish to 
examine my luggage?" I said to the officer who eyed 
me sharply. And I presume not seeing any guilt 
stamped on my face, he said : "Oh, no," and gave me 
the dismissal mark, and we hurried from the custom 
house to the train in waiting nearby. I was greatly 
amused at the remarks made by some of my fellow 
travellers who were paying their first visit to the 
Old country. Especially so, when they saw the little 
locomotive and compartment cars with the doors on 
the sides and seats facing each other for the accom- 
modation of ten persons. Two gentlemen from Lan- 
caster, Pa., with whom I became very well acquainted 
on ship-board, were with me, and as they surveyed the 
odd-looking cars, said : 

"Well, I guess in America we are far ahead of any- 
thing over here." 

As the staid Scotchmen listened to the Yankee ex- 
pressions a faint smile played over their faces as they 
looked at us askance. 

Greenock is a very historic old town. James Watt, 
the inventor of the steam engine, was born there, and 
the grave of Burns' Highland Mary is here also. It 
was once a great shipping point, but since the deep- 
ening of the Clyde, most of the shipping is centred at 
Glasgow. This river above Greenock was once a nar- 
row, shallow stream, but has been so improved that 
now all along its miles of quays can be seen vessels 
from all parts of the world. Stretching along on 
either side of its shores are immense ship-yards where 
some of the largest crafts afloat were built. One 
would wonder how they managed to launch such large 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 23 

vessels, but we learned they did so sidewise. They 
say that "God made all the rivers but the Clyde, but 
the Scotch made it." 

We were soon hurrying away through towns and 
villages through a pretty stretch of fine country to 
Glasgow, the great Metropolis of Scotland. 

GLASGOW. 

This was once a Roman colony, and St. Mongo es- 
tablished a church here in 560 A. D. At the time of 
the Reformation, the city had a population of 4,000. 
In 1708 it had 12,000, and now it has about 800,000 
inhabitants. Although it is sixty miles from the sea, 
it is said to rival Liverpool in shipping, Manchester 
in cotton-spinning, the Thames and Tyne in iron ship- 
building, and Wolverampton in iron furnaces. As 
one walks along its busy streets, lined on either side 
with splendid stores, he is struck with the push and 
business snap of its people. Buchanan street is the 
finest business street of the city, and contains many 
large and attractive stores. 

Argyle street is a business thoroughfare three 
miles long and as one sees the vast number of stores on 
this street he wonders how they all gather in shillings 
enough to stay. I went into one of these stores to 
purchase a "Hold All" and, not recalling the proper 
name of the article, asked the saleslady for a "Catch 
all." With a broad smile playing over her face, she 
said: 

"I do not know what you mean." 

Pointing to the article, I said, "That is what I 
want." 

"Oh, you mean a 'hold all.' " 



24 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

"Well," I replied, "I want something to 'hold all' 
my belongings." 

Her smile broadened into a laugh as she wrapped 
the article up, and gave me a look that led me to think 
she regarded me as a very odd piece of humanity. 

"Have you rubber collars?" I asked of a salesman 
in another one of the shops. 

"We have, sir. What size do you wish?" 

When I informed him, he gave me one rather 
smaller than I required. "I think that will answer," 
he said. 

"If I attempted to wear that I would have an ex- 
pression on my face similar to a man suspended by a 
hemp necktie," I remarked. 

He either wanted to see a demonstration of it or 
was very anxious to make a sale, for he was loath to 
let me go. 

The municipal building is a massive structure. The 
interior is finished with the finest kind of marble from 
various parts of the world. This city is said to be one 
of the best governed in the world. The city gov- 
ernment is composed of men who consider it a 
great honor to fill the offices to which they are elected, 
and study the interests of the city. The university is 
a very imposing edifice with a frontage of 600 feet. 
It was founded in 1450 by Bishop Turnbull The 
Botanical gardens are nearby. I spent some time 
there in looking at the many choice plants and flowers. 
The Cathedral stands as a monument of the long ago. 
It is 319 feet long and sixty-three feet wide. It is 
surrounded by a church yard containing many very 
old tombs. I was very much interested in reading 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 25 

the epitaph on an old stone erected in the memory of a 
noted physician who died in 161 2. It read as follows : 

'Ah me! I gravel am and dust, 

And to the grave descend I must. 

Oh, painted piece of living clay, 

Man, 'be not proud of thy short day. 

Stay, passenger, and view this stone, 

For under it is lying such a one 

Who cured men while he lived; 

So gracious was, he no man grieved; 

Yea, when his physic forces failed, 

His 1 pleasant purpose did prevail; 

For of his God he got the grace 

To live in mirth and die in peace. 

Heaven has his soul, his corpse, this stone; 

Sigh, passenger, and so begone." 

Glasgow Green is a park extending a mile along the 
Clyde. It was well patronized by many of the poor 
people in that locality. It is said that while James 
Watt was strolling through this park he conceived 
his central idea of steam engines. 

On leaving my fellow-passengers, I seated myself 
on the top of a Tram car and rode through a busy 
portion of the city to the business house of a brother 
of a friend of mine in Philadelphia to whom I had a 
letter of introduction. On my arrival, I inquired of 
the saleslady if the proprietor was in. She said in 
broad Scotch: 

"He's na in noo, but will be aboot noon. Will ye 
bide a wee?" 

I seated myself and awaited his arrival. On enter- 
ing the store he scanned me closely and even more 
so when I arose to give him my letter. When he 
found I was a fresh arrival from Philadelphia and had 



26 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

a message from his brother he gave me a welcome that 
only a Scotchman can when he finds yourself and an- 
cestors leaned toward respectability. 

"I should be pleased to have you go home with me 
and spend a few days," he said. 

"Thank you, sir," I replied, "but have arranged to 
go to Stirling this evening." 

"Will you visit me on your return to Glasgow?" he 
asked. 

"I will," I said. And did so, and my visit to that 
home is among the pleasant memories of my trip. I 
was very kindly entertained by him and his good wife 
and daughter. I said to his wife : 

"You have an excellent daughter ; she is quite effi- 
cient at the piano or in any department of the home." 

She replied in a way that made me laugh. "Oh, 
she is neither lame nor lazy, an' she's braw an' supple 
with her tongue as well as with her hands." 

There was a young man that called in the evening 
who had an exalted opinion of this lass. He has since 
led her to Hymeneal altar. While we were convers- 
ing, an old woman came into the store walking with a 
cane and dressed in the fashion of long ago. Her 
bonnet had the appearance of having been made in 
her girlhood days. 

"Here is a very interesting woman. I want you to 
meet her," he remarked. 

"Aunty," he said, "here is a gentleman from Amer- 
ica." 

"Well, God bless you. I am glad to hail you, com- 
ing from that great country. I have always had a de- 
sire to see it, but will never get there now, for I am 
old and poor," and with a smile playing over her 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 27 

wrinkled face, said: "But I'm not forsaken, for the 
God I sought more than forty years ago is still looking 
after me, and I have nothing to fear. When the lads 
see me comin' they say, 'Here comes old aunty, and 
she's still preachin'.' But I'm undaunted ; I tell them 
I will preach while my breath lasts. I am eighty- 
seven years old and will not have much longer to 
stay. But when I go from my little home I shall find 
a better one." She said with a great deal of pride, 
"I'm Scotch." But her brogue betrayed her as com- 
ing from the old sod. As I was leaving, she said : 

"I shall never look into your face again, but hope to 
see it in the better land." 

On my way to the station, I went through one of 
the slum districts of this great city and saw the most 
wretched looking women that I have seen in any city. 
Most of them had an old shawl over their heads, and 
their eyes blackened and faces battered and scarred. 
They wore very short skirts which were as badly in 
need of water as were their bare feet, but they evi- 
dently did not believe in an outward application of 
Avater, or an inward one either when they could use 
anything stronger, and many of them had a heavy 
cargo of the article that had been the means of their 
downfall. 

Near the station I met a colored man, and un- 
bleached humanity was so rarely seen in the British 
Isles that I could not pass him without stopping and 
having a conversation with him. 

"Are you from he States?" I inquired. 

"I am, sir," he said, as a smile played over his ebony 
face. 

"What part do you hail from?" 



28 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

"Well, sir, I am from North Carolina. I came over 
here with some railroad men several years ago, and I 
don't suppose will ever get back again," he replied. 

"Colored people are very scarce in this country," I 
remarked. 

"Indeed, sir, they are. My family is the only col- 
ored family I know of in Glasgow, and we are kind o' 
lonely, for the folks here gives us the cold shoulder. 
Here's my address," he added. "Come and see me, 
will you?" 

"I will not have the time," I said, as I bade him 
good-bye and hurried away to the train. He was the 
only colored person I saw until reaching London, and 
there only saw very fow. While waiting for my train, 
I engaged in conversation with a man from far up in 
the Highlands. - 1 He expressed himself as being 
greatly surprised to learn I was a full-fledged Ameri- 
can. 

"You don't have that nasal twang that most 
Yankees use,"' he said, "and you don't use those ex- 
pressions, 'I guess' and 'calculate.' When our people 
go to America," he added, and remain only a short 
time, they come back guessing and calculating like a 
Yankee." 

He became very much interested as I gave him 
some account of our great railway system, and said : 

"Eh ! but you come from a wonderful country." 




Sterling Castle, Scotland. 



■! 




May Pole Party. 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 29 



CHAPTER III. 

ENROUTE FOR STIRLING. 

IS this train for Stirling?" I inquired of one of the 
guards. 

"No, yon train is the Stirlin' train," he replied. 

Shortly after seating myself in "yon train," was 
speeding away toward my destination. 

"This is a beautiful section of the country," I re- 
marked to a man sitting near me. 

"This is a bonnie part of Scotland," he replied. 
"Most of these towns we have passed through have a 
very interesting history connected with them. You 
are a stranger about here," he further remarked. 

"Yes," I replied. "Although I was here about five 
years ago, it seems quite new to me." 

"What part of the world do you come from, sir?" 

"From America; I just landed in Greenock this 
morning." 

"You have a great many of our people in your 
country," he remarked. 

"Yes, and they have done a great deal toward mak- 
ing our great Republic." 

"I should like to visit America, but fancy I will 
never have the privilege," he said. Then pointing to 
a flag-staff off in the distance, said, "There is an in- 
eresting spot to every Scotchman. That is the old 
Bannockburn battlefield." 

In travelling through the country I heard the peo- 
ple speak with a great deal of pride of Bruce and Wal- 



30 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

lace and old Bannockburn. A short ride from this 
point brought us into Stirling just as the sun was hid- 
ing behind the great hills that surround this historic 
old place. Stirling is a very ancient town. Five cen- 
turies before Arthur's time it was a Roman station, 
and four centuries after, a Northumbrian Fortress. It 
has a population of 16,000. The buildings are stone, 
ranging from two to five stories. The business por- 
tion of the town contains some fair sized stores and, 
judging from the fine homes in the residential portion, 
many of the merchants have been very successful. In 
the old part of the town, there are a number of long, 
narrow, winding streets on either side of which are 
many quaint houses having the appearance of being 
built when Stirling was in its infancy. From some 
of the streets run little closes (or courts), most of them 
wretched looking places, and the occupants seemed to 
be in keeping with their surroundings. 

One day in passing one of these closes I heard the 
sound of angry voices, and soon found it to be two 
auburn-haired sisters who were badly shaken up by 
the "fall." They passed out the Scotch expressions 
in a way that brought forth a roar of laughter from the 
motley crowd of spectators who seemed anxious to 
see a hair-pulling exhibition by these two old lassies, 
but they simply fought it out with their tongues. 

A little farther down the street there were two of 
the worst looking women I had seen in all my travels. 
They were well charged with Scotch whisky. They 
had their "wee bairns" wrapped in shawls and carried 
them in queer style. One of them had her's strapped 
on her back in pappoose fashion and held it by the two 
ends of the shawl. The other had her bairn tied in a 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 31 

part of her shawl and carried it at her side, the way 
that I saw many of the mothers carrying their chil- 
dren. Both of the women were rolling like a ship in 
a storm. In passing, one of them ran against me, and 
in doing so struck the child's head on the sharp edge 
of my autoharp, causing the little one to cry out lust- 

iiy- ' 

"I am very sorry ; it was purely accidental," I said 
to the woman. 

"Oh, it does na matter, it was na your fault," she 
replied. 

"What's the trouble?" said the other woman, as she 
staggered over towards us. 

"Oh, the wee bairn struck its head against the mon's 
fuddle," she replied. 

Two desperate looking men came out of a low 
groggery and joined the women, and the quartette 
got into a dispute and the last we saw of them they 
were in the middle of the street, having a free fight, 
while some of the same stripe of humanity were trying 
to rescue the bairns. 

Stirling, like every other place, has its slum district, 
and the men and women living in that locality evi- 
dently have found, as have similar characters the world 
over, that failing to keep a firm hold on the reins of 
passion means wreck and ruin 



32 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE OLD CASTLE. 

\ I / HE old castle is one of the most interesting 
& I Is places in Stirling. It stands on a ledge of 
rocks on a very high hill overlooking the 
town. It was a royal residence as far back as 990. 
Alexander I died in this castle in 1124. It was be- 
sieged by Edward I who brought with him all the be- 
sieging implements from London, and not until one of 
those terrible engines called the "Wolf" was brought 
to bear on the castle, was it surrendered. It was af- 
terward captured by King David. It was a royal res- 
idence under the Stewarts. James the II and James 
V were born here. In one of the rooms are a num- 
ber of relics which belonged to James III, and others 
belonging to James V. In the Douglass room is a 
magnificent stained glass window, a gift of Queen 
Victoria in memory of William, Earl of Douglass, who 
was murdered by James II who stabbed him in the 
throat. 

From the battlements one gets a splendid view of 
the town and the surrounding country. Off in one di- 
rection is a beautiful valley dotted with farms and lit- 
tle villages with the links of the Forth winding in ser- 
pentine style through the valley, while off in the dis- 
tance can be seen Ben Lomond, Ben Venue, Ben 
A'an, Ben Ledi, huge mountains lifting their heads 
from two to three thousand feet above the sea. Then 
can be seen old Abbey Craig, with its wooded brow 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 33 

only a short distance from the town, and other smaller 
hills making a picture of which any lover of nature 
would not tire. 

One day I took what is called the "back walk," lead- 
ing up to the castle. It is a broad gravel walk, wind- 
ing around the hill. The rocks on the sides form a 
complete wall. I came across a little nook in the side 
of a huge rock in which were seats arranged in semi- 
circle form, and above the seats was a tablet with these 
words : "To accommodate the aged and infirm who 
had long resorted to this spot on the account of the 
warmth and shelter from every wind, these seats were 
erected 1817." Also a stone erected "In honor of 
Wm. Edmonson, contriver of this walk, 1724." 

Along the walk, back of the castle, the rocks seemed 
to be piled up in various forms. One of them had 
fallen over a small chasm, one end of which rested on 
a rock on the opposite side, forming a bridge. It at- 
tracted the attention of many of the passers-by. Seat- 
ing myself under a ledge of rocks near by, I feasted my 
eyes on the grandeur of the scenery all about me. It 
was a July clay, but the cool breezes made me feel like 
donning a light overcoat. It hardly seemed possible 
that in far-away America they were tusselling with a 
hot wave which I learned through the Glasgow papers 
had pushed the thermometer up to a hundred in the 
shade. 

"It is very hot," my friends would frequently say to 
me. 

I smiled and said, "You would think it quite pleas- 
ant here to what it is in 'Yankee Land.' " 

While seated in this cleft of the rock, a fine looking 
old gentleman came over to me and began a conversa- 



34 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

tion. On learning I was an American, he said to 
me, as his face brightened up : 

"I have a son in your country, and it does not seem 
to be such a far-off country as it did before he went 
over there. He is living in San Francisco," and 
added, "He wrote me a short time ago, and said he 
was just as far from New York as I was." 

"Well," I said, "that is true. It is 3,000 miles 
from New York to San Francisco." 

"Why, I can scarcely realize that you have such 
an immense country," he remarked. "We think a 
journey of 500 miles is a long one, but to take one 
of 3,000 miles is more than I can grasp." He gave 
me his card and wished me to call and see him when 
I came to Edinburgh. He was interested in the Sea- 
men's Mission in that city. 

The old Castle is used as an infantry barracks. 
There were several hundred soldiers quartered there. 
We became acquainted with some of the lads. They 
took great pleasure in showing us through their quar- 
ters, which seemed to be quite comfortable. Among 
them were a number of the Scottish Highlanders. 
Their kelts, sashes, gay plaid stockings and rimless 
caps to me seemed rather an odd uniform. One of 
the boys informed me there were seven yards of ma- 
terial in one of the kelts and he found them rather 
weighty. Most of these brave lads went to the seat of 
war in South Africa, which broke out a few months af- 
ter my visit to the castle, and many of them fell while 
storming the strongly fortified hills of that far-off 
country. Homes are now desolate all over the Brit- 
ish Isles because these noble fellows are no more. 

While conversing with some of the lads, an excur- 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 35 

sion party came into the castle gate. Among them 
were two Scotch lassies. 

"I'm wanderin' where they're from?" said one of 
the soldiers, which remark was overheard by the las- 
sies. 

One of them quickly turned and said in broad 
Scotch: "Ye'll be wanderin' a lang time before ye'll 
ken." 

The boys laughed heartily and the lad took his 
change very quietly. One of the boys said : "You'll 
no be sayin' any mair to that lass." 

On coming from the castle to the cemetery, which 
is on the slope of the hill where sleep many of Scot- 
land's honored dead, we met an old blind man beg- 
ging- 

"It's a foin day," he said as he felt about with his 
cane and came over to us. At once we knew what 
his salutation meant. He was talking for a copper. 

In a conversation with him we learned he had been 
at this point for eight years soliciting alms. 

"I've no seen the licht of day for five and twenty 
years," he said. "I was a sailor and one day at sea 
was accidentally struck across the eyes with a chain 
and was blinded." A»d then added in a very pathetic 
tone of voice, "Me folk are all in the old cemetery save 
one, and he was drooned at sea." 

The old man had a huge blessing for those who 
dropped a coin in his hand. 

This cemetery contains many fine monuments of 
various kinds. There was one in particular which at- 
tracted my attention when visiting the cemetery sev- 
eral years ago. I was again interested in reading the 
many inscriptions it contained, It is a beautiful mar- 



36 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

ble monument in the alcove of which were two finely 
sculptured figures which represented two excellent 
Christian girls who, rather than renounce their faith 
and trust in Christ, consented to be tied to a stake 
on the Solway tide and let the angry waves sweep over 
them. 

We came to the plot where Professor Henry Drum- 
mond's remains had been recently interred. Stand- 
ing by the grave of that excellent Christian man, I 
thought of the words uttered by the Apostle Paul: 
"He being dead, yet speaketh." It occurred to me it 
would be a very appropriate inscription to place on 
his monument. While this good man has been called 
from his life of usefulness to his reward above, his 
books, the product of his fertile brain and heart, 
warmed by the spirit of Christ his Master, will be read 
with interest and great profit by coming generations. 
He was the Sunday school teacher of one of my friends 
in Stirling and he was very loud in his praise of Mr. 
Drummond as a Christian gentleman. He was a 
bachelor on the sunny side of fifty. He left a wid- 
owed mother, who still lives in their fine old mansion, 
surrounded by splendidly laid out grounds on the sub- 
urbs of Stirling. She is a woman that commands the 
love and respect of the entire community. 

While in the cemetery we met a typical old Irish- 
man. He was dressed as they did in the long ago. 
He wore knee breeches with bright metal buckles and 
a long pair of yarn stockings, low shoes and a very an- 
cient looking coat and hat. In conversation with 
him he said: "I'm from ould Ireland, and I'm proud 
of it. I left it many years ago and would like to go 
back again, but don't think I ever shall" 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 37 

"Well, there is no place so dear as one's native 
land, I replied. 

"That's true, sir," he said. "I should like to see my 
old home once more." Then pointing to the plot 
where he informed us lay the remains of several of bis 
children, said : "But I suppose my old Scotch lass will 
be hiding me away here in a short time." Then 
straightening up and looking me in the eye, said: 
"I'm 78 years old and as good a mon as I iver was. 
When I was young, I feared the face of no mon," and 
then striking a fighting attitude, added, "and I don't 
mind them yet." 

He convinced me by his scientific movements that 
he well understood the art of discoloring a man's eye. 

In speaking of the government, he said : "The Bible 
says, 'Go ye into all the world and preach my gospel 
to every creature,' but the English government says, 
'Take ye a gun and go ye out and kill and plunder, and 
bring the spoils to London and thou shalt be blest." 

There was a tall, slender, old woman who came over 
and seated herself on one of the graves. She had a 
bag of new mown grass which she had just gathered. 

"That's my old Scotch lass," he said as he pointed 
to the old woman. "She was pretty nice when I mar- 
ried her, but she's gettin' 'crookeder' all the time." 
She leaned her elbow on the bag of grass and gave 
him a look that led us to think that the old lady was 
well able to look after her own interest. 

One of the care-takers came over and said : "That 
old man has reared some great lads. Why, but for 
them the Stirling courts would have had little to do." 

"Well," the old man replied, "I built one jail and do 
what I can to keep it filled, but that old lass sittin' 



38 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

there always has the shillins to get the lads out." 
He began to whistle an Irish jig and to dance the 
same. "You ought to be getting ready to take your 
place beside those sleeping here," I remarked, point- 
ing to graves, and added, "moving day is coming." 

He quieted his feet and with a merry twinkle in his 
eye, said : "Sure, I'll be ready for moving day when it 
comes, sir." 

I bade him and his old lass good-bye, thinking it 
would be a long time before I would forget the jolly 
old Irishman that caused me to laugh so heartily, even 
though my surroundings were of such a character as 
to make one rather pensive. At the entrance of the 
cemetery are two old churches. One of them is called 
the church of the "Grey Friars." It was erected in 
1494 by King James IV. In this church James VI 
was crowned in 1567. John Knox preached the cor- 
onation sermon. The pulpit from which the sermon 
was preached and a number of old relics were on exhi- 
bition in the old Guildery near by. On the tower of 
one of these churches once fortified against the castle 
by General Monk in 1651 and by the Jacobites in 
1746, and which still bears the marks of bullets, is a 
very quaint notice. It reads as follows : 

"Charges in the old church yard: For a person 12 
years old and upward, in two-horse hearse, 12 shil- 
lings ; or shoulders high, one-horse hearse, 8 shillings ; 
12 years old and upward, if on spokes, 6 shillings; 
graves for child 2 years old, if in hearse or carried in 
the yard, 2-6 note. The sum of 6-8 and 12 shillings 
include a bag for bones. In case in digging the grave 
they found the bones of any one previously buried 
they were put in the bag and re-interrad. 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 39 

One of my friends was telling me that it was cus- 
tomary in Scotland a few years ago, and is yet in 
some places, to collect for the digging of the grave 
before the friends left the church yard. There was an 
old close-fisted man that lost his wife and after the 
remains had been lowered in the grave, the sexton 
stepped up to collect his bill. The old man gave him 
the amount, minus one shilling. The sexton called 
his attention to it. 

The old man said : "I'll gie ye na maire." 

"Doon with the other shillin'," said the sexton, "or 
up she cooms." 

The old man concluded to let the old lady rest, and 
came doon with the "other shillin'." 

There is an epitaph in this old cemetery to which 
the guides are very particular to show the visitors. It 
reads as follows : 

"Our life is like a winter's day; 
Some only breakfast and away, 
And others to dinner stay and are full fed. 
The oldest man but sups and goes to bed, 
Large is his debt who lingers out the day; 
He who goes soonest has the least to pay." 

Stirling has a number of large and substantial look- 
ing banks and also a number of fine schools which 
are well patronized, judging from the great number 
of children that one sees. 

There are a large number of churches scattered over 
the town, and one would think from the multitude of 
people seen on the streets on Sunday wending their 
way to the various places of worship that most of the 
people of this old town had a religious turn of mind. 
The Presbyterians are the leading denomination, hav- 



40 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

ing several large churches. The Baptists seemed to 
be the second strongest in numbers, the next,being 
the Episcopal Church. The Methodists only have 
one church, with a very small congregation. The 
pastor of this church was a very excellent man and I 
spent several pleasant evenings with him and his fam- 
ily in their home, in company with some of the mem- 
bers of his church. A few days after rendering some 
service in their Sabbath School by singing, accom- 
panied with the autoharp, I was going over Gowan 
Hill to the castle, and as I drew near a group of little 
girls, one of them shouted : 

"Here comes the man that played the fiddle in our 
Sunday School." 

Thinking to draw them out in conversation, I stop- 
ped and began talking with them, but found them 
rather shy, like most of the Scotch children. 

One day I received an invitation to attend a wed- 
ding at the Episcopal Church. I was not acquainted 
with the contracting parties, but received it through 
my friend, who was intimate with the groom. He in- 
sisted on me going, even though I did have to do so 
alone, as it was impossible for him to attend. I made 
my way to the church through a drenching rain, not 
that I had never seen a couple launch out on the sea 
of matrimony, but had some curiosity to see how they 
did it in Bonnie Scotland. On presenting my card to 
one of the ushers, was shown to a seat near the front. 
Two young men sat in the front pew who seemed 
very much interested in watching the guests as they 
came in. When the bride came up the aisle, leaning 
on the arm of a large, fine looking fellow whom I sup- 
posed was the groom, one of these young men left his 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 41 

seat and took his position near the chancel and she, on 
reaching- there, loosened her hold on the supposed 
groom and grasped the arm of the young man in wait- 
ing, and I soon learned that he was the lad of her 
choice. It was quite understood why he watched the 
door so closely. I had never known the groom to be 
so far in the advance of the bride, but bachelors are 
not supposed to be very well versed in matrimonial 
customs. The rector was a long time in tying the 
nuptial knot. I thought if they desired a little later 
on to have it untied (as some do), they would have 
some difficulty in having it done, even though they 
came over to one of our western states where they so 
easily sever the matrimonial knot. 

One evening in company with a friend I went down 
along the banks of the winding Firth, which is navig- 
able for small crafts as far as Stirling. Then we 
crossed the meadows to Abbey Craig and climbed to 
its summit. It was a long, tiresome journey, and 
more than once said to my friend, "I shall not be able 
to scale the mount." But he urged me on by telling 
me of the grand view I would get from its peak. On 
reaching the top I was amply repaid. • The scenery 
from this point was sublime. Far below was the old 
town, and a short distance away was the Bridge of 
Allen, a health resort, and across the valley nestled 
the quaint little village of Cambusbaron. It was 
nearly 10 o'clock when we came down from that huge 
pile of mother earth and rocks, and darkness had just 
began to. settle down on the old world. In the sum- 
mer evenings quite often they have the twilight nearly 
all night. But in the winter season it grows dark 
much earlier than in America. 



42 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

A drove of Highland cattle interested me very 
much, which two men had brought from far up in the 
highlands. Two fine shepherd dogs were rendering 
them great assistance in keeping the cattle in line. 
These cattle are quite small and have long, shaggy 
hair, their forelocks being of great length — most of 
them touching their nose. They have large horns ex- 
tending out some distance, then slightly bowed. 

In company with some friends, I spent an evening 
with a blind couple. They were very talented. He 
was a fine musician and she had a literary turn of mind. 
They had both been blind from childhood, but not- 
withstanding their blindness, they had not escaped the 
darts of cupid. They had a "wee bairn" and it was 
interesting as well as touching to see that mother 
bending over the cradle soothing the little one when 
it became restless. When it lifted up its voice and 
struck notes which are usually discordant to a bach- 
elor, she tenderly gathered it up and sang a lullaby 
that she wrote on the "Bairn." Her husband ren- 
dered some very classical music. The evening spent 
with the blind couple was a very enjoyable one. 

I met several of the friends of my former visit and 
added many others to the list during my fortnight in 
Stirling and vicinity. 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 43 



CHAPTER V. 

BANNOCKBURN. 

0NE afternoon I rode from Stirling on a "Break" 
to the old Bannockburn battlefield. The rid© 
was a very pleasant one. We passed through 
the old Saint Inians district. Many of the houses 
were very old. The terminus of the line was at an- 
other very ancient looking village which was some 
distance beyond the point where I should have gotten 
off, but concluded to continue the journey to the old 
town. On leaving the "Break," I saw a crowd gath- 
ered around some small tents. My curiosity led me 
to go over and learn the cause of this gathering. On 
doing so I found it was a gypsy encampment. One 
of the old sisters had a spirit akin to that of the witch 
of Endor, and she was doing a thriving business, but 
my faith in her ability to foretell future events was not 
sufficient for me to give her my patronage. When a 
iad, in company with a friend, I visited one of these 
professedly wise old bodies and left a hard-earned 
piece of silver with her for a little bundle of startling 
events that were to come my way, but as yet have 
failed to become facts. After remaining a short time 
at this point I inquired my way of a man to the battle- 
field. 

"Take yon street," he said, "and it will lead you to a 
mill and just beyond the race you will find stepping 
stones across the brook. Follow the path on yon 
side and it will lead you to within a short distance of 
the battle ground. 



44 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

I went as he directed to the mill and then through 
an old farm yard to the stepping stones, and crossed 
the brook and walked along a beautiful road on one 
side of which this little stream came tumbling down 
over the rocks. Missing my way, I came out into a 
field where some boys were playing foot ball. 

"Will you direct me to Bannockburn?" I asked a 
very odd looking boy. He made no reply but simply 
gazed at me in a dazed condition. 

"What do you want?" said another boy as he came 
up to me. When I informed him, he said : 

"Oh, just go to yon stone steps and that will lead 
you to yon field and it is straight across." When I 
left the boys, I overheard the odd looking lad shout : 
"Eh, he's gaen to yon flag staff." 

I climbed the stone stairway leading up to the 
wheat field and took the well-beaten path beside the 
hedge. In the adjoining field were a number of men 
and women hoeing. When they saw my huge form 
towering far above the hedge rows they rested on 
their hoes and cast some very inquiring looks over 
toward me. A short walk brought me out to the little 
village and I soon found my way to this historic old 
battlefield. On the top of a hill is the Borestone 
which once held the old flag beside which Bruce 
stood and directed the battle that made him famous 
and which won the independence of Scotland, until 
the Scotch voluntarily put themselves under the flag 
of Old England. As I stood beside the flag staff, 
from the top of which was flying the Union Jack, and 
loodek out over that beautiful valley with those great 
hills rolling off in the distance, I fancied I could see 
those warriors of centuries ago engaged in that terri- 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 45 

ble conflict, and imagined I could hear the groans of 
the wounded and dying that broke the silence that 
seemed to pervade that spot. Seating myself on a 
bench, I quite enjoyed the fine scenery stretching out 
in all directions. Near me sat a man and two women 
who were using the broad Scotch quite freely. His 
vision was dimmed by an overdose of Scotch whisky, 
but it had loosened his tongue so that it was running 
at a rapid rate. Presently he turned to me and said : 

"Are ye Scotch?" 

"No," I replied, "I am a Yankee." 

"Gie me yer hand," he said, as he extended his 
brawny hand toward me. I did so and Scotland and 
xA-tnerica shook warmly. Then he said something in 
Scotch to the women that convulsed them with laugh- 
ter. Not feeling quite sure about my nationality, he 
said to me : 

"Are ye English?" 

"No, I guess not," I replied. 

He gave me a sharp look and said, 'Ye had better 
no be 'guessin' aboot here." 

"Well, are you Scotch?" I inquired. He gave a 
vacant laugh and said : "I think so, but I'm no sure." 
The trio began spinning some very dark threads 
through their conversation which I concluded would 
not be very edifying - , so I beat a hasty retreat. 

After spending some time in looking around the old 
battlefield, turned my steps back to Stirling. On my 
way back I passed several little thatched and tile- 
roofed cottages. Some of them were quite attractive 
being newly white-washed and rose bushes in full 
bloom climbing up the sides and fronts of the cot- 
tages. In going through the St. Inian's district, I 



46 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

came to an old church in which stands a very ancient 
looking tower. Curious to know something of its 
history, I stopped and made some inquiry about it. 
It was once the tower of an old church used by the 
Jacobites in 1746 as a magazine. On learning of the 
approach of the Duke of Cumberland, they blew the 
church up and left the tower. There were a number 
of tombs in the church-yard dating as far back as 1632. 
I visited so many old graveyards in England, Ireland 
and Scotland that I finally concluded it could be said 
of me like one in the Scriptures : "He dwelt among 
the tombs." While in the church-yard, two young 
men came near and they engaged in conversation 
with me about the old tower and finally said to me : 

"We have just come from Glasgow on an excursion. 
This is the week of the Glasgow Fair and it is a gen- 
eral holiday time, so we thought we would visit this 
old town." 

"Yes," I replied, I have noticed great crowds of 
people in Stirling all during the week?" 

"What part of the world do you hail from?" they 
inquired. 

"From America." 

"We are very much interested in that country," 
they replied, "for our sister is living there. Her 
home is in Providence, R. I. Father and mother died 
some time ago." They added, "And we moved from 
the old home and rented a flat, and sister kept house 
for us a little while, but she grieved so about the death 
of our parents that her health began to fail, so she 
concluded to go to America and make her home with 
a cousin, thinking the change might benefit her," 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 47 

"Rather a sad thing," I said, "to have the home 
circle broken up." 

"Oh, indeed it is, sir," one of them replied. "We 
find it especially so now, since we have to keep bach- 
elor's hall," he further remarked. "We had a good 
father and mother," said the younger one. "Father 
was an elder in one of the Presbyterian churches in 
Glasgow for many years, and mother was also a fine 
Christian. I fancy now I can feel the touch of her 
hand on my head, as I did when I was a wee boy and 
knelt at her knee in prayer." 

Feeling assured I was in the company of two of 
Scotland's choice lads, I became very much interested 
in them. When the clock in the old tower struck 
one, I was reminded that we had been standing beside 
the old moss-covered tombstone engaged in conversa- 
tion just one hour. On leaving them, they said : 

"Will you call and see us when you come to Glas- 
gow?" 

"If I find the time, would be pleased to do so," I 
replied. One evening on my return to Glasgow I 
said to my friend, Mr. Hood : 

"I am going to call at No. 37 C Street and see 

two gentlemen I met at Stirling. Being a pretty 
good reader of human nature, I think I am correct in 
the opinion I formed of these lads. However, if I 
don't return, you will know where to start the clew to 
the missing Yankee." 

He smiled and said, "I shall not be very much con- 
cerned about your safety." 

A comparatively short ride on the top of the tram 
car brought me to their home, which was in a favora- 
ble part of the city. On reaching the second floor of 



48 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

this large tenement house I saw their name on one of 
the doors and shortly after pulling the bell it was an- 
swered by "James," the elder of the two. 

"Come in, sir; you are welcome to our home,"he 
said, with a good, honest ring to his invitation. 
"Bob" arose and gave me just as cordial a welcome 
as did his brother. Casting my eyes about the room, 
I soon concluded that Butler and his belongings 
would be perfectly safe in that home. On the wall of 
the parlor hung a large portrait of their father, whose 
face indicated the truth of his son's statement that "he 
was a good man." There were also a number of 
Scripture texts hanging on the walls of the two rooms 
they occupied. They took great pride in showing me 
the library that belonged to their father. Seeing 
among the collection a copy of Bobby Burn's poems, 
I requested one of them to read me "The Cotter's Sat- 
urday Night," which he did and explained the mean- 
ing of many of the Scotch phrases. Then we had a 
few Scotch airs on the piano, after which I gave them 
a number of Yankee pieces on the autoharp. The 
evening was spent very pleasantly and the time passed 
so quickly I found it later than I was aware. 

"You must remain with us over night," they said. 

"No, I could not think of that," I replied. 

"We shall insist on it," they said. I finally con- 
sented to do so, and we were all three soon tucked 
away in the large "set in" bed. 

"Boys," I said, "when we want to change positions 
we shall have to give notice and all do so at once." 
The little room rang with laughter when thesignal was 
given to "shift." We finally got quieted and drifted 
away to dreamland. 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 49 

On awakening the next morning, I saw "Jim" care- 
fully preparing the morning meal which consisted of 
oat meal porridge (chief of Scotia's food) and a few 
other substantials. It greatly amused me as these 
two fellows who had all the symptoms of an old bach- 
elor, and I the full-fledged one, gathered around the 
table. 

"Well, boys," I said, "the last stage of bachelorhood 
is manipulating the cooking utensils, but I am thank- 
ful I have not yet reached that point." 

"Well," they replied, "as soon as our lease expires 
we expect to abandon the pots and pans." This 
motto I thought I could suggest : "What is home 
without a woman?" 

They gave a very pressing invitation to pay them 
another visit before leaving for home and the night of 
the confirmation of the report of the fall of Pretoria, 
South Africa, I sailed from Belfast for Glasgow, and 
on the arrival of the train from Addrossan was met at 
the station by "Jim and "Bob" and taken to their 
home at Tolcross where they had recently removed. 
Before going out to their home we went out in the 
city to see the great demonstration. The streets were 
filled with very enthusiastic people. There was a 
military and also a civic parade, accompanied with 
brass bands, and fife and drum corps. There was an 
illuminated street car which was a beautiful sight. 
On the top of it were some of the city officials who 
were being cheered along the route. If all the 
Queen's subjects were as loyal as the Scotch seemed 
to be, and their patriotism led them to take up arms 
and go to the front, her troubles would soon be at an 
end in South Africa. We rode on the under-ground 



50 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

railroad to various points in the city and found great 
rejoicing on the part of the people. Glasgow is com- 
pletely honey-combed with the under-ground railway. 
They have also tunneled the Clyde. 

Among some of the odd names of the towns on the 
board at the railway stations was Motherwell and 
Bothwell. There is a historic pun my friends said 
about these two places. The platform porter 
sftouted, "Motherwell!" A sympathetic traveler in- 
quired, "Is Father well?" "A bit west," responded 
the porter, "and ye'll find Bothwell." 

Tolcross is a suburb, a short distance from the city. 
The lady with whom Jim and Bob boarded, used the 
broadest kind of Scotch, as did the children. One of 
her boys had a pugilistic turn of mind, and one day 
got into difficulty with another boy. She leaned out 
of the window and shouted to the boy to come home 
and when he did so she reproved him for his conduct. 

"Di ye think I'm gaun tae staun like a stookey an 
let him hit me?" said the young lad. 

After a brief stay with Jim and Bob, bade them 
good-bye and concluded that Bonnie Scotland could 
well be proud of such lads as they. 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 51 



CHAPTER VI. 

THE QUAINT OLD TOWN OF C . 

I SPENT several days in the quaint little village of 
C in the Highlands. On either side of the 

two long, narrow, winding streets of the village 
were many little thatched and tile-roofed cottages. 
Some of them, I was informed, were several hundred 
3>-ears old, and I concluded they were from their ap- 
pearance. On calling at a home I had formerly vis- 
ited, was met at the door by a motherly old lady who 
gave me a very cordial reception. She said : 

"I did na ken you was comin. I'm no tidied up. 
Come awa-ben an mak' yoursel at hame." 

I followed her into the little, neatly furnished room, 
and after she made some inquiry about some of my 
friends in America, she said : 

"There's been mony changes since you were here 
last." Then pointing to the photo of her husband 
which hung on the wall, added : "He's no here noo ; 
he's gaun awa hame," and gathering up one corner 
of her apron to brush away her tears, said : "He's 
greatly missed in this hame." 

When I called at this home on my former visit to 
Scotland this good man was an invalid and had lain in 
one of those "set-in beds" (a bed built in the alcove 
of the wall) for seven years. When I bade him fare- 
well, he said : 

"I'll no see you here ony mair, but I'll meet you in 
yon city." And shortly after my return home to 



52 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

America I received a letter from his son, saying: 
"Father has gone to live 'in that city' of which you 
sang to him." 

"My bairns have all left the old hame," resumed the 
old lady, "save my youngest lad, who is still beside me. 
Jeanie is the only single lass I have and she's awa." 
The wife of one of her sons came in and also one of her 
daughters, and the Scotch phrases were passed out 
quite freely. I interrupted them several times to 
learn the meaning of some of them. The old lady 
gave us a brief history of her early life. 

"Mother took me to live wie a farmer's wife near 
the old hame when I was a 'wee lass,' " she remarked, 
"and when she saw me, she said, 'She's far too wee to 
rin after the kye.' 'I've na fear if she does na go to 
sleep ; she's a braw and supple, though she's wee,' " 
her mother replied. 

"Will ye go to Mrs. Smith, and see if she has the 
claiths mangled?" she said to her daughter. I was 
amused at the answer she gave her mother when she. 
returned : 

"She did na hae them dune ; she's jist gaen to gie em 
the roun of the wrist," she said. 

"Where is your brother?" inquired the old lady of 
one of her grandsons as he came into the house. "I 
dena ken noo ; I telt him to come ham but he would 
na come." 

"That boy has a fine open face," I remarked. 

"Yes," she replied, "he's a bonnie lad, but ye dena 
ken the mind of the other bairn. He's more quiet." 

In speaking of a family living nearby whom I had 
previously met, she said : "Mrs. Millen is na in the 
auld hoose noo. She's awa in the hame where there's 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 53 

na a bit of sorrow. The youngest lad is married and is 
living in the auld hoose. Will you gae to see him?" 

"Yes," I replied, for I remembered with pleasure 
my visit to that home. While we were waiting an an- 
swer to our knock at the door she said, pointing to the 
rose bush in full bloom, climbing up the front of the 
house: 

"Mrs. Millen is no here noo. She's gaun awa 
where the flowers bloom forever." 

She had a way of weaving threads of poetry through 
her conversation which I greatly appreciated. One 
of her sons in speaking of the death of his sister, said : 

"Sister died at the beginning of the year and left 
three small children. Mother had them under her 
care for awhile — good, big-hearted mother that she is. 
Her wrinkles are increasing, and so is her love." In 
speaking of the death of his child, he said : 

"The wee bairn you saw in its mother's arms we 
carried down to the river of death and passed it over 
to the good Shepherd. He is caring for it now." 
And since my return home in a letter I received from 
another one of her sons, he said : 

"Our wee lass took ill about Christmas and it 
proved to be fatal. We tried to make her short jour- 
ney through life a pleasant one. We would liked to 
have kept her, but ghe slipped away from us in a little 
fit." 

Our knock was answered by a staid looking Scotch 
lass who had just recently changed her name to Mil- 
len and takes possession of the "auld hoose," and 
seemed to be doing her best to brighten the life of 
this lad whose life, I remember, was bound up in that 
of the mother. One day while in conversation with 



54 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

this young man about the many old houses in the vil- 
lage, he said : 

"Yon house is the one that Bruce slept in the night 
before the battle of Bannockburn." 

"Well," I replied, "it must be very old, for that was 
in the early part of the thirteenth century." 

"We will go over and see the old relic," I said to a 
gentleman in company with me from Glasgow. And 
while doing so an old woman came down the long, 
narrow, winding street and, seeing we were interested 
in the house, stopped and said to us : 

"That is the auld hoose that Robert Bruce slept in 
before the great battle of Bannockburn, and yon hoose 
back is where he kept his powney." 

It was ancient looking enough to have stood many 
centuries. The tiles on the roof were in a fair state of 
preservation, as well as the house. The windows 
were very old fashioned. While the old lady was giv- 
ing us some interesting history connected with the vil- 
lage, an old man sitting in a cart on some produce 
with his wooden leg resting on the dash and driving a 
little sorrel pony came down the street, shouting: 
"Tatties and herrin'." 

"This old man and his team are in keeping with the 
quaint street," I remarked. 

"Oh," she said, "he's a puir lookin body but he's 
got money, but he's wantin' a leg." 

I smiled at the queer way of speaking of the loss of 
the old man's leg. "And that," I said, "is a very old 
house, too," pointing to a little cottage with spears of 
wheat and grass growing on the thatched roof. 

"Eh," the old woman replied, "it's a ga auld hoose; 
there's some one lived in it since I mind." 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 55 

In passing along this old street I came to a house 
in the window of which were some apples and a few 
jars of candies. 

"I am going to purchase some of those apples," I 
said to the gentleman, "just to get an opportunity of 
seeing the interior of that old house and having a talk 
with the old lady." Lowering my head, I stepped 
into this little home and inquired of the woman the 
price of the apples, she replied in very broad Scotch : 

"Eh, ther'er a threepence a poun; ther'er na gae 
braw. Wait till I gie ye the etheryins." 

She went into an adjoining room and brought out 
some that she said were "gae braw," but which I con- 
sidered were about on a par with the ones in the win- 
dow. While she was weighing the apples I engaged 
in conversation with another old lady who was sitting 
by the open grate. 

"I fancy," she said, "that you are from England." 

"No," I replied, "I am from America." 

"I did na ken you were from that far away land. I 
had some friends that went over there mony years 
ago, but I have na heerd of them in a lang time. I 
dena ken anything aboot them noo," she said. 

To what part of America did they go?" 

"Eh, but I think it was a place called Cincinnati, but 
I fancy they're all dead noo." The old woman came 
over to me with the apples and joined in the conversa- 
tion. 

"I had a cousin that left the auld village for that 
country when I was a lass," she said. 

"Well, it is quite an undertaking to cross that great 
body of water to reach that country." 

"Eh, it must be," she replied. 



56 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

But then," I said, "God can take care of you out on 
old ocean as well as on land." The old woman sitting 
by the grate looked up into my face and said : 

"Eh, but He's a great God. Neglected by mony, 
but has some to worship Him." 

The old man with a wooden leg came to the door 
and said something to the old woman that sold me the 
apples, and I soon learned that she was his wife. 

"You see your lassies have a lad," I remarked. 

He smiled and in reply said, "That's richt." 

In passing the old house shortly afterward, saw him 
loading his cart with produce. Stepping up to his 
pony and patting it on the neck, I said, "You have a 
fine little animal." 

"Eh," he replied, "but she's as wise as a body and 
staun's as still as a brick while I'm gettin in an oot." 

Just then his wife came out with her large burlap 
apron filled with vegetables and placed them in the 
cart. 

"It is a fine thing to have a good wife," I remarked. 
He looked at the old lady and with a merry twinkle in 
his eyes, said : 

"Eh, it is that, but it took gai muckle thought be- 
fore I got her." 

"I have not been as fortunate as you, and have not 
yet gotten a wife." 

"Eh, bide a wee and you may get one," he replied, 
with a vein of humor in his remark. 

He may have thought me very hopeful to even be 
giving it a thought after tarrying so long on the Is- 
land of Single . 

"The fleas and migees are so bad," he said, "I could 
na get my pouny to staun yesterday when I was out 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 57 

with my tatties and herrin. A woman wanted some 
tatties and I said to her, 'come haud her heed while I 
gei em to ye." He said to the old lady where I was 
stopping: 

"Tell the Yankee to come and spend an evening 
with us in the auld hoose." One evening in com- 
pany with her and a friend from Glasgow, I went to the 
home of this quaint couple. The flag stone floor 
looked as clean as water could make it. The two "set- 
in beds" that occupied considerable space in the little 
room looked neat and comfortable. The few pieces 
of furniture were quaint enough to have served several 
generations. There was a barrel cut half way down 
on one side and covered with coarse bagging which 
they were using for a. chair. It seemed to have been 
made expressly for the old lady for she seemed quite 
comfortable as she sat in it. The old man sat close 
beside her with his wooden leg resting on a low stool. 
Having read the book, entitled the "Bonnie Briar 
Bush," it struck me I was in the company of two char- 
acters similar to those mentioned by the author. 
While playing my harp in rather quick time, the old 
man said: 

"I ken I can dance it." 
His foot was moving quite briskly and even his 
wooden leg was keeping time with the music. We 
concluded if the old man gave us a demonstration of 
his ability along that line that most of the company 
would have to "shift" our quarters. A smile played 
over the face of his wife as she turned to him and said : 

"Ah, Dauvit, ye could na dance that with your 
wooden leg." 

"I ken I could/' he replied, 



58 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

It occurred to me I had better change my time and 
play and sing something that would touch his head 
and heart instead of his foot. The music awakened 
memories of his youthful days and with a smile play- 
ing over his broad face, partially covered with a gray 
beard, he said: 

"When I was a lad I had a very lassie kind of a face 
and my mistress said to me one day, 'Dauvit will ye 
dress in lassie's claiths this evening and gae to the 
dance and fool the laddies?' 'Yes, I'll gai,' I said. 
Ye ken the lassies sat on one side the room and the 
lads on the other. When I took my seat wie the las- 
sies a great, muckle (large) lad came over to me and 
asked me if I would dance wie him. And after I did 
so and took my seat he said to the lads, 'Eh, but she's 
ga and strong and a Billy on the swing,' " meaning she 
was very strong and swung about like a man. "Eh, 
my," said the old man, "but I had to gae oot for if they 
had kent me would have taken the claiths off me." 
Then in a sad tone of voice, he said : "But there's mony 
changes since that day." 

Then he spoke of their son, who was their only child 
who had died a few years previous. He spoke such 
broad Scotch I could scarcely understand some parts 
of his conversation, but was greatly interested in lis- 
tening to him, even though I had to get the meaning 
of some of his expressions from my friends. 

"We had a bonnie lad," he said, "but he went awa 
to another village to work and took a cauld and came 
hame ill. We watched his breath gettin shorter till 
he slipped awa frae us and the auld hoose has no been 
the same since." 

The old woman gathered up one corner of her 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 59 

apron and wiped the tears away that stole down her 
wrinkled face. The evening I spent in that "auld 
hoose" with David and his good wife in that Highland 
village was one of the most pleasant of my trip. On 
going back to the village the following summer I in- 
quired for the old couple. My friend said : 

"Dauvit's gaen awa frae the auld hoose, an he'll no 
come back ony maire." 

"When did he die?" I inquired. 

"They took him to the auld kirkyard last Merch," 
she said. The last Sabbath I spent in the village I 
remember seeing David sitting in the gallery of the 
old church, and fancy now I can see him adjusting his 
glasses, then take up his Bible and turn to the chapter 
given by the minister as the morning lesson and with 
the congregation silently follow in the reading of the 
same. In all the churches I attended in my travels 
through the British Isles I noticed that most of the 
congregation had Bibles and when the Scripture les- 
son was announced each one turned to the chapter and 
semed to be greatly interested as it was being read. 
The last time I saw the old man was the afternoon of 
that Sabbath day as he sat beside the old house read- 
ing his old worn Bible, the only chart and compass by 
which he and every other person that has preceded 
him have safely crossed life's sea to the port of eternal 
day. When I called to see the sorrow-stricken widow 
she said amid her tears : 

"This hame is no the same as when you were here 
last. Dauvit has gaen awa and I'll soon be gaen my- 
sel." 

I attended a religious meeting in one of the little 
homes in this village and will not soon forget that in- 



60 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

teresting and helpful service. I listened with pleas- 
ure to those plain country folk singing the songs of 
praise, especially that beautiful Scotch hymn, entitled 
"My Ain Country." My visit to that old Highland 
village will be among the very pleasant remembrances 
of my trip to "Bonnie Scotland." 

In this village I met the champion bicycle rider of 
Scotland. He showed me a great number of valuable 
medals he had received. 




Bobby Burns' Cottage. 




Aberdeen, Scotland. 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 61 



CHAPTER VII. 

TRIP TO ABERDEEN. 

0NE can take a cheap trip to any part of Scotland 
during the summer months, especially so dur- 
ing the week of the Glasgow Fair, which seems 
to be observed as a general holiday season. One 
morning I took a train from Stirling for Aberdeen 
by the Caledonia Road, which runs through a beau- 
tiful section of Scotland. In passing through a val- 
ley dotted with towns and villages and fine old farms, 
I .saw many of the farmers gathering in their hay and 
were being assisted by the sisters of the household, 
who seemed to be tossing the hay as dexterously as 
the men. Traveling through the country I noticed 
very many women at work in the fields. We passed 
through Dunblane and Perth. The latter place is in 
the locality in which the author of "The Bonnie Briar 
Bush" is said to have gathered most of his material 
for that popular book. Stonehaven is a fair-sized 
town nestled down at the base of a great hill on the 
shore of the North Sea. From this point the train 
runs very close to the great cliffs that stand like a wall 
all along the coast. There are a number of little vil- 
lages along the sea front principally occupied by fish- 
ermen. The white sails could be seen far out at sea. 
and also steamers of various kinds going and coming 
from Aberdeen which is quite a seaport town. 

In the compartment with me was a man and his 
wife and three children. She was Scotch and he was 



62 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

from old Ireland. She was a care-worn looking wo- 
man and seemed to have more fear than love for her 
husband. Tke child she held on her lap had its face 
broken up with a cry most of the journey, but he 
seemed to be oblivious to its cries. His lunch basket 
was on the rack above me and he finally took it down 
and dealt out some lunch to his wife and the bairns. 
But he seemed to be more thirsty than hungry and 
reached down in one corner of the basket and brought 
up a bottle of whisky. As he removed the cork, he 
said to me: 

"Will yees have some spirits?" 

"No, thank you," I replied ; "I never indulge." 

"Och, sure and yees are a tetotaller," he said. 

"Yes, I am, sir," I replied. 

"Well, sure I am, too," he said, "except on holi- 
days and pay Saturday nights." 

"Well, don't you think it would be to your advant- 
age to be a tetotaller on those occasions?" I said. 
She gave me an approving nod. 

"Och, well," he replied, "and a wee bit of spirits 
hurts no raon." 

"The trouble is," I said, "there is usually a bad 
spirit that accompanies spirits of that kind," and 
added, "You would not want to see these little boys 
become slaves to strong drink." 

"Well, I think not," was his quick reply. 

"Then be careful how you handle spirits before 
them. The force of example is very great," I re- 
marked. My temperance lecture had very little 
effect on him, for every few minutes he tipped the 
bottle until the spirits had entirely left it and had 
possession of the man, and we all knew the difference 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 63 

between the spirits being in the man and in the bot- 
tle. On reaching Aberdeen the poor woman not only 
had her bairns to attend too, but also her husband and 
his "spirits." 

We ran into the city on the elevated road and 
stopped just outside the station while the conductor 
collected the tickets. While the train was in waiting, 
a crowd of children gathered on the street below and 
shouted to the passengers, "Gei mer a micht?" 

"What are they asking for?" I inquired of a man 
near me. 

"Oh, they are begging for 'hea pennies,' " (half pen- 
nies) he replied. When they were thrown to them 
the Scotch bairns shouted and struggled for the coin 
in a way that reminded me of men whom I have seen 
in our American stock exchanges shouting and rush- 
ing about like mad men for the "dollar." 

Aberdeen is beautifully situated on a cluster of hills 
at the mouth of the River Dee. It has a magnificent 
harbor; the docks cover thirty-four acres in which 
were lying some immense steamers. Aberdeen is 
known as the Granite City and is properly called so, 
for all the buildings, both public and private, are built 
of light gray granite. It has a population of 105,000. 
Its business streets contain many very attractive 
stores. I rode on the top of a tram through the bus- 
iness and also the residential portions of the city, and 
as I did so, concluded that I had never visited a finer 
city. The city all through had an air of neatness, 
the streets were in a condition that reflected great 
credit on the officials. I rode out to the new bridge of 
Don, near which was an enclosed field where, from 
the top of the tram, I could see immense crowds of 



64 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

people, some engaged in field sports and various 
games, and near the entrance were a number of lads 
and lassies hoping about, keeping time with a lively- 
air played by the brass band perched up in the pavil- 
ion. It seemed to be a general holiday, and every one 
was bent on having a good time. Many of the peo- 
ple used such broad Scotch I could scarcely under- 
stand them. 

On coming back to the city proper, I visited a very 
old cathedral. At the entrance I noticed a tablet with 
this strange heading: 

"Mortifications left to this church by the following 
persons." 

The first to head the list was that of an old physi- 
cian who died in 1616. While I was reading down the 
long list of names, a very poorly dressed woman 
came near me and looked over the list of names. The 
amounts given were marked in such a way that I 
could not quite make them out, and I turned to her 
and asked the meaning of the marks. 

"Eh, I denna ken. I'm a stranger aboot here," she 
replied. 

"I am, too," I said, "and think I am a bit farther 
from home than you." 

"You're takin a good look aboot," she replied, and 
added, "It's an idle day wi me, and nothin doin. An' 
I'm just token a look aboot, too. I denna ken mony 
aboot Aberdeen noo. I lived here before me husband 
deed." Then she gave a sigh, and said : "I've had a 
hard time since he went awa. I hav na put me teeth 
in meat (food), for three days an its no a braw day 
when you canna do that." I soon discovered a huge 
begging thread running through her story and 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 65 

thought if I responded to every tale of woe that was 
poured in my ear I would soon have to be holding 
out my hand on some street corner begging for cash 
to get me back to Yankee land. 

Shortly after I came out of the cathedral I en- 
countered something more than a Scotch mist. The 
rain fell in great sheets and I took refuge in a door- 
way opposite the cathedral. At the base of the 
church-yard fence a man was lying on his back very 
much under the weather, in more than one way. He 
finally rolled off on the pavement and after a great 
effort he gained his footing. He started across the 
street. On reaching the center he lost his balance 
and fell on the broad of his back and lay in that posi- 
tion helpless, but it was a blessing in disguise for he 
received a fine bath which, from his appearance, he 
was badly in need. No one semed willing to leave 
their place of shelter to lend him a helping hand until 
the storm abated. 

"What do you think of that way of celebrating a 
holiday?" I said to two young men standing near, 
who were watching the weather-beaten man. 

"Eh, but that's gaun too far wi' it. Tokin a drink 
noo an then is a' recht." 

"Take my advice and give old 'John Barley Corn' 
a wide berth, for he is the champion wrestler." They 
smiled and said : 

"We'll na promise you that." 

A young man and woman sat beside me in the res- 
taurant who were rather communicative. Learning 
that I was from America, he said: "I was born over 
there, but father moved back to Scotland when I was 



66 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

a bairn. I should like very much to go over and see 
the country." 

"Are you a Mormon?" the young woman asked. 

"Oh, no; I am far from that. I haven't one wife, 
much less a dozen," I replied. 

"Do you live near Salt Lake City?" she further in- 
quired. 

"No," I said, "I am 2,000 miles from there." 

I soon learned why they were so much interested 
in that sect. A Mormon elder from America had 
been in their village preaching the Gospel according 
to Brigham Young, and several of the villagers had 
embraced the faith and I judged they were among the 
number. 

There were very many places of interest in Aber- 
deen that I should like to have visited, but found the 
day had passed all too quickly, and I was obliged to 
take the train back to Stirling. It was a long journey, 
but the time was passed very pleasantly as there were 
several very jolly and entertaining men in the com- 
partment. 

A VISIT TO BOBBY BURNS'S HOME. 

On my return to Glasgow I made the journey to 
the old town of Ayr. It was a very pleasant ride 
through a part of the country which was entirely new 
to me. Ayr is on the seacoast at the mouth of the 
Ayr river, which divides the town. 

"What is the population of this place?" I inquired 
of several with whom I conversed. Their figures 
varied so I failed to get very much light, but I judged 
it was a town of about 25,000 inhabitants. Some of 
the buildings were quite modern, but the most of them 
bore the marks of age, On one of the streets there 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 67 

was a very ancient looking inn which was said to have 
been the favorite resort of "Bobby Burns" and "Tarn 
O'Shanter." "Bobby" had his faults, as has every 
member of the human family. One of his was a fond- 
ness for strong drink. However, he wrote some very 
excellent poems which have been and are still being 
read and appreciated by many lovers of poetry. 

A short walk from this old inn brought me to a 
bridge spanning the river, which I crossed and walked 
down along the piers to the harbor. It seemed to be 
quite a shipping point for there were a number of 
large and also small crafts taking in and discharging 
their cargoes. 

"Ayr is a much larger town than I expected to see," 
I said to an old man in uniform who semed to have 
some official position on the immense stone docks. 

"Yes, this is quite a town, sir. There is a deal of 
business done here." 

"I presume you are an old resident of the place?" 
I remarked. 

"Well, it is the home of my childhood, but I fol- 
lowed a sea-faring life for many years. I am an old 
sea-captain and just recently gave it up," he replied. 

"Then I presume you have crossed the Atlantic?" 

"Oh, yes," he said; "several times. Once I was 
wrecked off the coast of Florida and, after drifting 
about at sea for several hours on a spar, was finally 
picked up and carried to a point in North Carolina." 

"How were you impressed with the States?" 

"Oh, very favorably. It is a wonderful country," 
he replied. The old man had a large fund of inter- 
esting and valuable information and I remained some 
time at the dock conversing" with him. 



68 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

From one of the business streets I took a "wagon- 
ette" to Alloway, the birthplace of Burns. It was a 
delightful ride of about two miles. We passed a 
number of splendid homes on the suburbs of Ayr. 
On one of the streets the large trees on either side 
formed a complete arch. There were two ladies sit- 
ting in front of me and I soon found they were mother 
and daughter. By a question I asked in reference to 
a point we were passing they learned I was a stranger, 
and the old lady at once began a conversation with 
me about the part of the country where Burns lived 
during his married life. 

"All this section of the country is very familiar to 
me," she remarked. "I lived a short distance from 
Ayr when I was a lass," which, judging from her ap- 
pearance, had been a long time ago. The daughter 
also had bidden farewell to her girlhood days. 

"You should visit Burns' old farm," she added, 
"where he married Jean Armour. It is only a few 
miles from Alloway. And you should also go to 
Mauchline where Poosie Nansie's cottage is, the cel- 
ebrated meeting place of the 'jolly Beggars,' and to 
Montgomerie where stands the mansion in which 
Highland Mary once lived as a dairy maid." 

"Well," I replied, "those places are all interesting to 
me, but I will only have time to visit Alloway." 

"Yonder is the cottage in which Burns was born," 
she said, pointing to a long one-storied, thatched- 
roofed cottage on the outskirts of the scattered village. 
We passed it in going to the Burns' memorial, which 
was a short distance beyond. We also passed the auld 
Alloway haunted kirk where Tarn O'Shanter had vis- 
ions of the witches dancing in the kirk-yard. His 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 69 

strange visions were caused by tarrying too long at 
the old inn which I saw in Ayr. The memorial is a 
small stone building in the centre of a beautiful little 
park, filled with flowers and shrubbery. The build- 
ing contains old relics that once belonged to Burns. 
Among them was a Bible which he presented to High- 
land Mary. There was also a statue of Tarn O'Shan- 
ter and one of Souter Johnny. Near the building was 
a statue of Poosie Nansie sitting in a chair. She kept 
the inn at Mauchline where Bobby frequently visited. 
It is said when she was questioned as to whether 
Bobby was at the inn, she would hold up her money 
purse and say: "He's na here the nicht." For her 
purse was always the heavier for his visits. 

X)n the wall of the building hung the following 
original letter to Capt. Miller Dalswinton, accom- 
panied by tke ode, entitled "Wha hai wi Wallce bled :" 
Dear Sir: — The following ode is a subject which I 
know you by no means regard with indifference : 

"Oh, liberty, thou markest the face 'of nature gay, 
Gives beauty 'to the sun and pleasure to the day." 

It does me so much good to meet a man whose hon- 
est bosom glows with the generous enthusiasm of the 
heroic daring of liberty that I could not forbear send- 
ing you a composition of my own on the subject which 
I really think is in my very best manner. I have the 
honor to be, dear sir, your very humble servant, 

Robert Burns. 

While I was copying this letter, the old lady and her 
daughter came over. The former put on her spec- 
tacles and began reading the ode. She grew very en- 
thusiastic and waxed warmer as she read it. 



70 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

"Mother, come away; don't get so excited," said 
her daughter. But she heeded not her request, but 
read in even a higher key. When she had finished, 
she turned to me and said : 

"That ode makes every Scotch heart sweel with 
pride." 

"There is a wee bit of Scotch blood in you," I re- 
marked. With a flush on her wrinkled cheeks and 
her piercing black eyes sparkling like diamonds, she 
said : 

"Eh, there's na a bit else in me and I'm proud of it." 

From here I went to the "Bridge of Bonnie Doon." 
It is a little arched bridge spanning this narrow 
stream winding through a beautiful valley on either 
side of which the great hills roll off in the distance. 
An old man stood on the bridge reciting one of 
Burns' poems. After he had finished, he showed us 
the spot where he said the witches pulled out the tail 
of Tarn O'Shanter's old gray mare, "Meg." But they 
say "Old Meg" lost her tail by the boys pulling it out 
for their fishing lines while her master was tippling in 
the old inn at Ayr. The old man conceded his story 
by extending his hand for some of the tourists' loose 
change. He was an old weather-beaten looking char- 
acter and had the appearance of being ancient enough 
to have lived in the days of Burns. 

From the bridge I went to the "auld kirk." It is 
now in ruins, although the walls are in a fair state of 
preservation and the bell in the tower is still remain- 
ing. There were some very old tomb stones. One 
of them dated back to 1691. The following epitaph 
I copied from one of them : 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 71 

"Oh ye w'hose cheeks the tears of pity s'taines, 

Draw near with pious reverence and attend. 
Here lies the husband's dear remains, 

The tender father and generous friend; 
The pitying heart that felt for human woe, 

The dauntless heart that feared no human pride, 
The friend of man to vice alone a foe, 

For e'en his failings leaned to virtue' s side." 

A short walk brought, me to the Burns cottage 
On the old thatch were spears of wheat and grass 
growing and around the low eaves was an abundance 
of moss. On paying the small admittance fee I en- 
tered the "gae auld hoose." The flag stone floor 
was laid with stones of various sizes, with an occa- 
sional brick filling a crevice. Hanging on a hook in 
the old fire-place were some cooking utensils. Be- 
side the fire-place was an oven in which Bobbie's 
mother in the long ago prepared the good things for 
him. On one side of the room was a dresser contain- 
ing some very ancient chinaware. Near it was the 
"set-in bed" in which the poet was born on the 25th 
of January, 1759. Beside the bed stood an eight-day 
clock that told the time to the occupants of that old 
house a century and a half ago. In one of the rooms 
were souvenirs and various little articles for sale. 
Another room which seemed to be a more modern 
part of the cottage was used as a restaurant and mu- 
seum. There were a number of Burns' original let- 
ters and other relics belonging to him. There were 
two old chairs. One of them belonged to Souter 
Johnny and the other to Tarn O'Shanter. There 
were brass plates on each of the chairs with verses in- 
scribed, which were written by Burns. 



72 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

The following verse was written by Burns and in- 
scribed on the brass plate of the chair of Tarn O'Shan- 
ter: 

Nai man can tether time or tide, 
The hour approaches maun must side. 
Will mounted on his grey mare Meg, 
A -better never lifted leg. 
The wind 'blew a t-wad blaw its last, 
The rattling shower rose on the blast, 
And sic a nicht he takes the road in 
As ne'er poor sinner was abroad in. 

Burns died July 21, 1796, aged 2,7 1-2 years. 

On my way back to Ayr I saw a great many women 
coming from the harvest fields. They were attired 
in very queer style. Their dresses were exceedingly 
short and they wore black footless stockings, their 
bare feet being only a few shades lighter. 

"That is an odd looking rig those women are wear- 
ing," I said to the driver. 

"Eh, it is that," he replied. "Those black footless 
stockings are called 'huggars.' " 

I returned to Glasgow well pleased with the day 
spent at Ayr and vicinity. 

A comparatively short ride from Glasgow brought 
me to Addrossan, where I took the steamer for Bel- 
fast. We had only gotten a short distance from the 
pier before we found the old Irish Sea was at war with 
the elements and we were soon in the midst of the 
row, being rather roughly treated. The huge waves 
dashed over the deck of the steamer, forcing us to the 
saloon below. The steamer was very much crowded, 
having on board a larg^e excursion party from Edin- 
burgh. I remained below deck until the fumes of 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 73 

Scotch whisky (which possibly many were taking for 
their "stomach's sake"), and the dense clouds of to- 
bacco smoke coming from some very ancient pipes, 
and the motion of the craft made me feel a "wee bit" 
uncertain as to whether I would be able to retain that 
which I had so carefully laid in that morning at the 
hospitable board of my friend Hood. I grasped the 
rail of the stairway and with considerable effort made 
my way on deck, wishing the difficulty between the 
Irish Sea and the elements were settled. On reaching 
the deck, found I could take my choice between a salt 
water bath or beating a hasty retreat to the saloon. 
I chose the latter. Upon entering I found the Irish 
Sea had shaken up the Scotch excursionists until the 
saloon had the appearance of having had a volcanic 
eruption. I fought with this belligerent old body of 
water for my rights all the way to Belfast Lough and 
finally came off conqueror. 



74 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

IRELAND. 

IN conversation with several American tourists 
whom I met in England, and others on the 
steamer whom I met on my homeward trip, I 
found they had made the same mistake that so many 
have, by leaving Ireland off their programme. This 
lovely Island, lifting its head far above the great waste 
of water sweeping all about it, contains some of the 
finest scenery found in any country. 

Ireland covers 32,393 square miles, a little less than 
Maine, South Carolina and Indiana. It has about 
5,000,000 inhabitants, three-quarters of whom are 
Roman Catholic. 

My first sight of the Emerald Isle was from the 
Queenstown harbor in the summer of 1894, after a 
voyage of ten days across the Atlantic. Those fields 
fringed with hedge rows of various shades of green, 
stretching from those bold white sea cliffs out as far as 
the eye could reach, was a picture that will not soon 
fade from my memory. On coming into the North 
of Ireland in the summer of 1899 and beholding those 
great hills and rugged sea cliffs of the County Done- 
gal, I found the scenery quite as fine in the North as 
in the South. In sailing up Belfast Lough, a distance 
of twelve miles from its mouth to the city, I was con- 
vinced that any lover of nature would be charmed 
with the magnificent scenery stretching along on 
either side. On the County Antrim side can be seen 




Views of Irish Homes. 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 75 

Cave Hill, Dives and Black mountains lifting their 
heads over 1,000 feet above the sea, while on the 
County Down side the Castlereagh Hills keep almost 
a parallel course. After having traveled from County 
Derry and Donegal in the North to Kerry and Cork 
in the South and feasting my eyes on the beauty of 
the scenery of that stretch of country, then standing 
on the highest peak of one of the mountains in Kil- 
larney and gazing on those great mountains rising up 
in all direction, at whose base are magnificent sheets 
of water the grandeur of which cannot be described, I 
was not surprised that the Irish people boast of the 
beauties of their country. Frequently I have heard 
them say that the fields of Old Ireland were greener 
than those of America, but considered it simply a fan- 
cied notion, but since my visits to that Green Isle, I 
join with every Irishman in saying it is true. Vegeta- 
tion of all kinds has a deeper hue than one sees in our 
own great country. The reason of this is the great 
moisture of the atmosphere. 

The Irish have the reputation of being very hospit- 
able people and I also found this to be true. Upon 
entering the homes of some of those who had gathered 
considerable of this world's goods, and of those less 
favored, I found that word "welcome" more than a 
mere sentiment. The kindness shown me in those 
Irish homes will always be cherished by the "Tall 
Yankee." 

The question is often asked, "What kind of homes 
have they in Ireland? Are most of them little, one- 
storied, thatched cabins?" 

My answer is, "No." There are hundreds of mag- 
nificent mansions, many of them surrounded by acres 



76 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

of fine grounds, usually enclosed by stone walls with 
the name of the home on the post of the lodge gate. 
The occupants of these dwellings are far removed from 
the pinchings of want. Then there are also thousands 
of splendid homes, many of which are owned and oc- 
cupied by professional and business men, homes that 
compare favorably with those of any country. In 
visiting very many of the homes of the laboring classes 
I found them neatly and comfortably furnished, and 
the vast majority of those that were not was because 
the head of the house dropped his hard earnings in 
the till of the "Publican" instead of that of the mer- 
chant. In my travels I did see many little cabins, 
especially in the South of Ireland, and wondered how 
the occupants managed to live in such a small place. 
I also heard them speak of the mud cabin found in 
some parts of Ireland, where the pigs and the chick- 
ens, and sometimes the donkey, shared the home with 
the family. The houses are either built of brick or 
stone. In all my travels through Ireland and Scot- 
land I never saw a frame house and only a very few in 
England, and they were very old. All the houses 
have open gates ; most of them have one in each room, 
and the kitchen floors are flag stone. 

Soon after my arrival in Dublin, I met one of my old 
friends who formerly lived in Cork. He greeted me 
in his usual witty and humorous manner. Grasping 
my hand and shaking it warmly, then casting his eyes 
down at my feet, he said : 

"Well, sure, Butler, I knew your feet. Why the 
two of them would flag a kitchen." 

Soft coal is the only kind used in the British Isles, 
and the housekepers, I judge, find it more difficult to 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 77 

keep their cooking utensils as tidy as do our Ameri- 
can women. 

Another question so often asked is, "Do they use 
the Celtic language?" 

In some parts of the country it is spoken by com- 
paratively few people and the most of them, I under- 
stood, being aged persons. In all of my journeys 
through that country I did not hear it spoken but 
once. An old man sitting beside me in the train go- 
ing from Belfast to Dublin used it in conversing with 
a Priest at one of the stations. None of the passen- 
gers in the compartment understood it, and all save 
one were full-fledged Irishmen. As the train moved 
from the station, the old man said : 

"It is such a treat to find any one who can speak 
the Celtic language, for I seldom come across a person 
that understands it." 

"Do you think it will ever be generally spoken 
again?" a gentleman asked him. 

"Well, I can't say, sir. They are trying to revive 
it ; but I hardly think it will ever be used to any ex- 
tent," was his reply. 

The Dublinites have the reputation of speaking the 
finest English spoken in the world. They have a soft 
musical accent and fit their sentences very neatly. 
Even those whose education was quite limited, used 
choice language. The dialect in the North differs a 
little from that of the South. The people of the 
North have a "wee bit" of the Scotch accent., and use 
a great many of the Scotch expression. In listening 
to the conversation of a man in a store in one of the 
northern towns I concluded he was a Scotchman and 
was greatly surprised when the proprietor informed 



78 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

me he was a native of Ireland. He said quite a num- 
ber of the people of that town used many Scotch 
phrases. In the North of Ireland there are very many 
large manufacturing places of various kinds, while in 
the South there are comparatively few. In visiting 
some of the towns and cities in the South, I wondered 
how the bulk of the people obtained a livelihood, and 
especially so in Cork, for the smoke was finding its 
way from very few industries in that beautiful city, 
with a population of nearly 100,000. From the ap- 
pearances of some I met on the streets, they earned a 
very scant living. The merchants, I fancied, de- 
pended largely on the country folk. All through the 
County Cork there are very many fine farms, and the 
majority of the tillers of the soil seemed fairly pros- 
perous. 

While in Cork on a market day I was very much 
amused in seeing some of the odd looking teams com- 
ing into town. It was a common sight to see an old 
man or a woman dressed in quaint style sitting in a 
cart, driving a donkey with rope lines. Some of the 
old characters were puffing away on very ancient look- 
ing pipes. The old women in the market place wore 
short dresses and old fashioned black bonnets, under 
which was a white cap bordered with three heavy frills 
that encircled their typical Irish faces. There was a 
"deal" of wit under those old bonnets, which they 
passed out quite freely. Cork has several fine build- 
ings and some of its "shops" are fitted up very at- 
tractively. On my former visit I stopped at one of 
these "shops" to make a purchase. As the clerk 
passed me the article, I said : "I don't want that, sir; it 
is soiled." 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 79 

"I see you are a Yankee," he remarked, as he ex- 
changed it. 

"I am," I replied. 

"Well, I thought you were an Irishman until I de- 
tected your slight American accent," he said. 

"The same compliment has been passed on me be- 
fore," I replied. "Some of my friends remarked to 
me before leaving America, 'If you step ashore in Ire- 
land with a clay pipe in your mouth they will ask 
you "how long it has been since you left the Old 
Sod." ' " 

I did not even have to resort to the pipe, for when 
in Londenderry in 1894 a lady at the hotel where I was 
stopping said to me, when she learned I was from 
America : 

"How long has it been since you left Ireland?" 

"I have never left yet," I replied. 

"Why the gentleman told me your home was in 
America." 

"So it is, but I have never left Ireland for the rea- 
son I never was here before." 

She gave me a look of surprise and said : 

"Oh, I thought you were a native of Ireland." 

Having also been taken for an Englishman, I 
scarcely know of what nationality I am. My face 
must be a strange combination, for some have taken 
me for a clergyman and others for just the opposite. 
One day while walking along a turnpike in the upper 
part of New Jersey, I said to a gentleman in com- 
pany with me, who was complaining of being weary : 

"There is a toll gate just beyond. We will call in 
and rest," Walking up to the door with a great deal 



80 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

of assurance I said to the matter-of-fact old woman 
that kept it : 

"Aunty, can we come in and rest?" 

"No, you can't," she replied very decidedly. "I'm 
here alone and I'm in and out, and can't have you in 
here." 

"We know the commandments very well, especially 
that one, 'Thou shalt not steal.' " She stepped out 
of the door and, adjusting her glasses, looked at us 
sharply and said : 

"Yes, but there's another side to it ; did you know 
it? There is lead us not into temptation." We 
laughed heartily at the old lady's remark. 

"Aunty, you surely don't think we would break that 
commandment, do you?" I asked. 

Leaning her elbow on the toll" gate, she said : "I'm 
a pretty plain spoken old woman. I think you 
would." 

Her remark brought forth another roar of laughter. 
We left the toll gate not feeling very highly compli- 
mented. My friend was a clergyman, and wore a 
white clerical tie, but the old lady did not seem to 
reckon very much on his garb. This amusing cir- 
cumstance I related to a lady who was connected with 
the same church of which the toll keeper was a mem- 
ber, and when she informed her who her supposed 
thief was she laughed heartily and said : 

"Tell him the Lord was numbered among thieves 
and he's no better than He was." And added, "There 
was a man stopped in to rest one day and quoted 
Scripture all the while he was here, and when he left 
he stole my cash box, and just as soon as that tall man 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 81 

with his friend began to pass out Scripture I fully 
made up my mind he couldn't come in." 

A short time after, a man said to me as I was about 
leaving a restaurant : "Why, I thought that was you 
sitting there when I first came in." 

"You have the advantage of me," I replied. 

"Oh," he said, "I have met you several times 
around at the hotel. You are the bartender there, 
are you not?" 

"Well, no, sir," I replied; "that is not my occupa- 
tion." 

I was helping pull in on the "Gospel net" at a 
church nearby, even though my face did indicate I 
was engaged in doing something just the opposite. 

At another time I was greatly amused as I listened 
at two boys who were passing their opinion on me 
while going along one of the streets in Asbury Park, 
N. J. They finally decided I was a pugilist and 
shouted, "Hello, there, John Sullivan." However, 
none of these who have passed their various opinions 
on me have given proof of being very apt in judging 
of one's nationality or calling in life. 

Returning to Cork, it has very many beautiful resi- 
dences. One part in particular I considered very 
pretty, where the houses were terraced on the side of 
a great hill. There are also several large churches, 
most of them being Roman Catholic. On seeing the 
great number of people going into these different 
churches and the great devotion of the large con- 
course of people assembled in the one I visited, I 
thought the Corkonians should be a model people. 
The Young Men's Christian Association have a large 



82 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

and finely equipped building and a fairly strong mem- 
bership. 

On St. Patrick Street is a statue of Father Mathew, 
who founded the church of the Holy Trinity and who 
began his career in Cork as the great apostle of tem- 
perance. If all the people I saw patronizing the pub- 
lic house in Cork would adopt the principles laid down 
by him, there would be far less of poverty and distress 
in that city. William Penn, the founder of Pennsyl- 
vania, was converted to Quakerism in Cork by listen- 
ing to a very eloquent sermon preached by Thomas 
Loe. 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 83 



CHAPTER IX. 

BLARNEY CASTLE. 

F SHORT ride on the electric tram brings one 
out to the Blarney Castle. It was built by 
Comack McCartney in the middle of the fif- 
teenth century. It has a massive tower 120 feet high. 
I climbed the stone stairway leading to the tower 
round the top of which is a battlement about five feet 
high. 

"Where is the famous Blarney stone?" I inquired 
of a young man standing near me. 

"Here it is," he said, as he leaned over the wall and 
pointed to the stone clasped by two iron bars on a pro- 
jecting buttress a few feet below the level of the wall. 
Seeing the difficult position it was in for kissing, I said 
to him : 
* "How will I put my lips on that stone?" 

"Och, sure," he replied, "I'll have to take yees by 
the heels and hang yees over the wall." 

"Not a foot of my tall form goes over there," I said. 
I had no thought of taking the risk of dropping iown 
120 feet and being so "bruised and mangled by the 
fall" as to be beyond the possibility of repair. An En- 
glishman gave me an acount of his trip to Blarney 
Castle and of his experience of kissing the stone. He 
said it was a very exciting one. "As I hung over the 
wall," he remarked, "I shouted to the men that held 
me, 'Boys, don't trust me boots, but hold fast to my 
feet." 



84 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

"The Blarney stone," says 'Blake's Picturesque 
Tourist of Ireland,' "had long been a by-word 
amongst the Irish. It is difficult to conjecture why, 
unless the glib tongues of the natives of this locality 
were supposed to be not the ordinary gift of nature. 
A curious tradition attributes to the stone the power 
of endowing whoever kisses it with the sweet persuas- 
ive eloquence so perceptible in the language of the 
Cork people, and which is usually termed 'Blarney.' 
There is an odd story about Blarney Lake which is a 
short distance from the castle. It is said that the Earl 
of Clancarty, who forfeited the property at the revolu- 
tion, sank all his family plate in a certain part of this 
lake ; that three of the McCarthy's inherit the secret of 
the place where the treasure is sunk and any one of 
them dying communicates it to another of the family, 
and thus perpetuates the secret which is never to be 
made public until a McCarthy is again Lord of Blar- 
ney." 

There is a beautiful little grove that surrounds the 
old castle in which a number of people were having a 
good social time, picnicking. 

The ride from Cork to Dublin is a very delightful 
one. I broke nry journey and ran over to the ancient 
city of Limerick. It is situated on the Shannon, "the 
noblest of the Irish rivers." In walking about the 
old city, which has a population of about 40,000, 1 was 
interested in its fine residences and its quaint business 
streets. The merchants seemed to be doing business 
very leisurely, evidently avoiding the great rush that 
sweep so many men to a premature grave. In my 
wanderings through this old city I formed the ac- 
quaintance of Rev. J. Armstrong, and spent a very 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 85 

pleasant hour with him and his excellent wife in the 
old manse. He was one of those broad-minded men 
and was very much interested in the progress of the 
church of God, irrespective of creed. It was a source 
of regret to me to learn, on returning to Ireland in 
1899, that this fine Christian man had quit the shores 
of time. But Ireland is all the better for the godly 
life and bright Christian example of this man. 

My trip to Tipperary in 1894 is still fresh 
in my memory. This town is the county seat of the 
large county of Tipperary. If the town and county 
can boast of nothing else, it can of its extraordinarily 
large men, many of whom are fine specimens. I re- 
mained over night at the home of a gentleman who 
was the father of a friend of mine in Londonderry. 
He was the only Methodist in the town, and all his 
employees were members of the Roman Catholic 
Church. He was a man who was respected by all the 
community, irrespective of creed. The people of 
Tipperary were very kind and hospitable, and I re- 
member my visit there with pleasure. 



86 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 



CHAPTER X. 

DUBLIN. 

©UBLIN is a beautiful old city with a population 
of about 400,000. It is divided by the river 
Liffey. It is rather a narrow stream walled 
up on either side, the entire length of the city proper. 
Along many of its quays and the canals running in 
from them can be seen vessels of various kinds taking 
in or discharging their cargoes. There are several 
lines of steamers plying between Dublin and points 
in Ireland, Scotland and England. 

One day, while at the north wall, I saw a number of 
men from one of the country districts embarking for 
England to engage in harvesting. Many of tkem 
were dressed in queer style, and had their belongings 
tied up in red handkerchiefs suspended from rude- 
looking sticks and thrown over their shoulders. One 
man in particular amused me very much. He wore a 
little flat-topped hat and a coat that looked as though 
it had been worn by his ancestors, a very brief pair of 
trousers, and yarn stockings that disappeared under 
the scant trousers, and boots with no scarcity of 
leather. He carried his extra clothing in an old car- 
pet bag having the appearance of being the first that 
was made. 

The Liffey is spanned by a number of bridges. 
The O'Connel bridge is the principal one. It con- 
nects Westmorland with Sackvill street. The latter 
is an unusually wide street on which stands Nelson's 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 87 

monument. I climbed the spiral stairway to the top 
of this monument which is 120 feet high and had an 
extended view. The Dublinites have demonstrated 
the fact that they desire to keep the memory of their 
illustrious dead fresh and green. On many of the 
streets are monuments in honor of some eminent 
divine, statesman, poet or hero. The Duke of Wel- 
lington was born in Dublin and also Tom Moore, Ire- 
land's great poet. Many of his poem's I have read 
with interest. I remember when a small boy what a 
deep impression was made on me in reading one of 
his beautiful hymns, entitled "There's nothing true 
but heaven." The last verse has always lingered in 
my memory. It reads as follows : 

"Poor wanderers of a stormy day, 

From wave to wave are driven ; 
And fancy's flash and reason's ray, 
Serve 'but to light our troubled way; 

There's nothing calm hut heaven." 

Then in later years another one of his sacred songs 
became a great favorite: 

"Come, ye disconsolate, where'er you languish, 
Come at the shrine of God, fervently kneel, 

Here 'bring your wounded hearts; here tell your anguish, 
Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot heal." 

Daniel O'Connel, the noted lawyer and statesman, 
lived in this city. His family vault is at the Glasne- 
vine cemetery, a very large Catholic burial plot on the 
suburbs of the city. On paying a six pence I went 
down the steps to the vault where could be seen the 
coffins containing the dust of this great man and of 



88 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

several members of his family. While visiting this 
cemetery one morning there were a great many fun- 
erals came in. There were three in the chapel at one 
time and a number of others awaiting to take their 
places. It is quite a sight to see the friends coming 
to the cemetery in Irish jaunting cars and vehicles of 
various kinds. They are supposed to have their dead 
at the chapel by 12 M. One of the grave-diggers in- 
formed me they had forty funerals that morning. 
Parnell is buried here and a large mound marks his 
resting place, on which were many small glass cases 
containing immortelles and various designs made of 
artificial flowers presented by friends and the many 
Land League societies of Ireland. On my way into 
the city I overtook the priest who officiated at the fun- 
erals at the chapel. "You have had a busy morning," 
I said to him. 

"Oh, yes," he replied ; "we had about twenty chil- 
dren and the same number of adults." 

"Is that an unusual number for one day?" I in- 
quired. 

"Yes," he replied, "there is an epidemic of typhoid 
fever in the city and it is proving fatal in many cases." 

During the winter I was informed the number ran 
up to sixty funerals a day. ♦ 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 89 



CHAPTER XI. 

THE CUSTOM HOUSE AND FOUR COURTS. 

DUBLIN contains some very large and massive 
buildings, some of them bearing the marks of 
age. The custom house is the finest building 
in the city. The principal front faces the Liffey. 
The dome is 120 feet high, on the top of which is a 
statue representing "Hope." I had a friend em- 
ployed there and called occasionally to see him, but 
had to go through a great deal of "red tape" before I 
could "put the two eyes of me on him." 

"Who do you wish to see?" the attendant at the 
gate inquired. 

"Mr. M— ," I replied. 

"Well, just go to the second floor and they will send 
for him." 

On reaching there I was directed into a small room 
and furnished with a blank to fill out with my name 
and address and occupation. This being done, an- 
other attendant took it to headquarters, and after my 
clearance papers were passed, my friend put in his ap- 
pearance. 

The Fourt Courts on the King's Inn Quay, which 
is some distance up the Liffey, is a splendid building 
in which are the courts of the Queen's Bench, Ex- 
chequer and Common Pleas. The Barristers are at- 
tired in black robes and wear a gray curled wig. 
Some of their robes looked ancient enough to have 
been worn by the Barristers of long ago. I paid sev- 



po A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

eral visits to the courts (be it known only as a specta- 
tor). I saw a number of these masters of law hurry- 
ing to and fro with their hands filled with documents, 
apparently doing their best for their client. They ad- 
dress the judge as "Your Worship." I enjoyed lis- 
tening to them argue their cases. They usually spun 
threads of pure wit through their remarks. Around 
the magistrate's court there was usually a large 
crowd of rough looking men and women gathered, 
who semed to be interested in their friends who had 
fallen into the hands of justice. Several times I at- 
tended the magistrate's court in Ireland and while 
there was a very sad side to them, there was also a 
very amusing one. One day I remained while they 
disposed of quite a number of cases. The first was 
that of a good natured looking man, whom a fellow on 
the witness stand had charged with assault and bat- 
tery. Judging by the quantity of material with which 
his eye was bandaged, the man did it properly. The 
lawyer, who was an elderly man and quite witty, said : 

"Did you not follow the defendant from the factory 
and bring on the trouble?" 

"Well, sure I come out after he did," was his reply. 

"Well, how many public houses did you go into 
before you found him?" 

"I don't remember, sir." 

"You don't remember? Why, you seem to have a 
very short memory," said the lawyer, and added : 

"Well, what did the man do when you found him?" 

"Och, sure, he made a pass at me," said the man ad- 
justing the bandage. 

"And a very successful pass it was, by the look of 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 91 

your eye," said the lawyer, which remark caused a rip- 
ple of laughter to pass over the court. 

"What did you do when the man struck you?" 
asked another lawyer. 

"I don't mind, sir; I was confused," was his reply. 

"Well, what confused you?" 

"The five pints of porter he drank before he found 
the defendant," shouted the old lawyer. Even the 
old staid Judge had to smile at this remark. 

"Your Worship," said the lawyer for the plaintiff, 
"these men are fellow-workmen and have never had 
any trouble before, and my client does not wish to 
push the case." 

"He is the aggressive party," said the old Judge, 
and, turning to the fellow with the discolored eye, 
said : "My business is to punish the guilty," and sen- 
tenced him to a short term in the old prison. The 
next to appear in the prisoner's dock was a great, stal- 
wart woman, with a babe in her arms. She was also 
charged with using her huge fists too freely on an old 
woman. When they called the name of this old 
weather-beaten character, she slowly made her way 
to the witness stand and seemed so feeble that one of 
the officers had to assist her. The prisoner looked 
down on her with scorn, and said : 

"Och, don't be helpin' her; she can help herself. 
She's only puttin' it on." 

"Kiss the book," said the clerk of the court. She 
clasped her hands and threw her eyes up toward the 
ceiling and looked as though she was about to ex- 
pire. She was one of those old characters that had a 
face for every day in the week. She finally gathered 



92 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

up the little soiled Bible and pressed it to her withered 
lips and then began to make her statement. 

"I keeps a lodgin' house, and that woman come to 
me house for a bed and whin I gave her one and 
wanted me pay, sure, she wouldn't give it to me, but 
fell to and give me a beaten," and then clasping her 
hands, said in a faint tone of voice, "And, sure but for 
me daughter she would have bate me to death." 
Then she slowly sat down. 

"That old rounder has another case in court," said 
a rough looking man near me. "She's always bring- 
in' some one here." 

"Your Worship, can I spake?" said the prisoner. 

"You can," the Judge replied. 

"I wint to that woman's house for me lodgins and 
paid me six pence for me bed and laid meself and 
child down on it, and if she dident come and drag the 
tick from under me and give it to some other -woman, 
and I never laid the hands of me on her." 

The old woman forgot how feble she had pretended 
to be and sprang to her feet and, rolling up her sleeve, 
shouted : 

"The Lord forgive me, but look at the arm of me 
where she bate me." 

"Your worship," said the officer, "when I reached 
the old woman, I found the prisoner beating her." 

When the old Judge sentenced the huge prisoner, 
she shrieked and shouted: "Yees are sendin' an in- 
nocent woman to jail." 

"Did you see the prisoner break in the door?" said 
a lawyer to a woman who was a witness against a man 
who was charged with malicious mischief. 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 93 

"I saw him with the two eyes of me walk over to the 
door and break it in." 

"Do you think, after all the porter you women had 
been drinking, you could see clearly?" remarked the 
lawyer. She looked at him indignantly, and said : 

"I don't go among me neighbors, sir, and I don't 
drink. We've been dacent people for seven genera- 
tions." Every one smiled at her remark, for she 
looked as though she was fresh from the public house. 

One of the Judges that presided at one of the courts 
was a comparatively young man and evidently saw 
the funny side of life. I tried hard to catch all of his 
witty sayings that amused the court, but he had a low 
tone of voice and found it difficult to hear him. 

"When did you say you arrested those women?" he 
asked of an officer who had just testified against two 
of the worst looking women one could find. 

"At half-past nine o'clock," the officer replied. 

"I should think so," he said, with a smile playing 
over his face. I would like to know what man would 
be found in daylight in the company of such looking 
women as they." 

One of them had an old piece of soiled rag with 
which she was wiping out her blackened and swollen 
eye. The other woman's face was fearfully disfigured 
with old scars and fresh cuts and scratches. They 
had evidently been in collision with several crafts 
along the wild, rocky coast of intemperance. He fin- 
ally turned to them and said : 

"Leave the clock and never let me see you here 
again." 

"Your worship," said an officer, "I found this man 
drunk and not able to give any account of himself." 



94 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

The prisoner was a hard looking old man and as he 
stood in the dock, looked about in the court-room 
and winked at the people. 

"Silence in the court," shouted one of the officials, 
as he heard a suppressed laugh coming from a num- 
ber of persons, and I among them. 

"Has the defendant anything to say?" asked the 
Judge. 

"Your worship, I have," said the old man as he 
turned to us and again winked. "I was down on the 
strand gatherin' cockels and I told the officer I was 
goin' to Balgrigin, and sure he took me up." 

"What is your occupation?" asked the Judge. He 
put his hand in his coat pocket and drew out a tin fife 
and held it up and said : 

"That's me caracter, sir." 

The remark struck the Judge on the funny side and 
his face was broken up with a huge smile. A young 
man stood in the dock bearing the same name as my- 
self. He was charged with bringing his fist down on 
his father's nose in a way that took the bark off of one 
side. His father was called to the stand and, after 
kissing the book, the lawyer asked him if he knew the 
boy. "I do, sir; he's me son," he replied. 

"What kind of a boy is he?" 

"Well, he's very unruly and he doesn't work. He 
came into the house for the tea and the mother said he 
couldn't have it until the rest of the children had 
their's, and he said he would. He grasped the knife 
and the bread, and his mother and I remonstrated 
with him, and he threw the knife and the loaf of bread 
at his mother and struck me with his fist." 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 95 

"And that is how you got your nose injured?" asked 
the lawyer. 

"It is, sir," he replied. The boy's mother was then 
called to the stand. 

"Are you acquainted with this lad, inquired the 
lawyer. 

"I am, sir; he's me son." 

"What kind of a boy is he?" 

In a very decided way, she said : "Sure, sir, he's a 
quiet lad, and when he works gives us all his money." 

"Well, how did he come to get into trouble at 
home?" 

"Well, he came in for his tea and I told him to wait 
till the other children had their's, and he said he'd 
have it at once. Then his father said he should have 
none at all, and sure in the melee he struck his father." 

Then they produced the huge bread knife and the 
lawyer said : "Did he throw this knife at you?" 

She said very decidedly "He did not ; he held it in 
his haund." 

"Well, did he throw the loaf of bread at you?" 

"He did not, for we hadn't the full of a in the 
house." 

"Your husband just swore that he threw the knife 
and bread. What, then, did he throw?" 

She said in a way that made every one laugh : "He 
threw the half of a loaf at me and struck me in the 
back of the neck with it. Sure, he's a poor stuterin', 
stammerin' lad or he could speak for himself." 

Her mother heart would not let her testify against 
the boy and he was acquitted, 



96 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

I said to my friend : "You see that all who bear my 
name are not law-abiding." 

On coming out of the court-room I saw a motley 
crowd gathered about the window cells, which were 
covered with fine wire screens. A bare-footed and 
forlorn looking woman with a small babe in her arms 
shouted to one of the prisoners : 

"Sally, are ye there?" 

"I am," was the reply. 

"What did yees get?" 

"Och, sure, and they gave me fourteen days or a 
pound, and I'll have to go to jail, for I've no pound." 

"Cheer up ; the fourteen days will soon be passin'." 

"What did Mike get?" shouted the woman from the 
cell. 

"Och, sure, he was fined a pound, and some one 
paid it for him." 

"That's just like him to be havin' that done," she re- 
plied, and added: "Look after the things till I get 
out." 

Some of the Christian women in and around Dublin 
have organized the "Woman's Prison Gate Mission," 
and have accomplished a great deal of good. They 
have a committee of ladies at the prison gate every 
morning, and these excellent women induce many of 
the unfortunate ones to go with them to this worthy 
institution, and many of them having been brought 
under Christian influence have been led to a better 
life. 

They have a laundry connected with the mission 
which gives employment to a great many women. In 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 9? 

company with one of the ladies interested in this mis- 
sion, I visited it and assisted in a religious service. 
There were something over a hundred women pres- 
ented many of them were deeply affected. We are 
too apt to regard those who have gone so far down as 
hopeless cases. Many of these men and women only 
need a helping hand. 



98 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 



CHAPTER XII. 

BANK OF IRELAND AND TRINITY COLLEGE. 

VT7 HE Bank of Ireland, once used as the House of 
<$ I (s Parliament of Ireland, is a large, imposing- 
building. It was completed in 1787 and was 
purchased in 1802 by the company of the Bank of Ire- 
land. In being shown through this old building, I 
was quite interested in the old House of Lords, which 
remains as it did in the long ago, except the statue of 
King George III occupies the site of the throne. 
Trinity College, standing on the opposite side of 
the street from the Bank of Ireland, is a fine old struct- 
ure. It is surounded by large and finely laid out 
grounds, on which could be seen the students en- 
gaged in their various field sports. This college was 
founded in the time of Pope John XXII and closed 
in the reign of Henry VIII. It was re-opened by 
Queen Elizabeth, who formed it into a corporation. 
In 1627 a new code of laws were framed for this col- 
lege. A son of a friend of mine living in Black Rock 
who is a student in the college there, showed me 
through the different buildings. Some of them have 
been built in the past few years and others show the 
touch of time. The library contains 300,000 volumes. 
From these old halls of learning have gone some of 
the brightest men the world has known. The general 
Post Office is another large stone building standing on 
Sackville street. It has a huge portico which extends 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 99 

out over the pavement, surmounted by three figures — 
Hibernia, Mercury and Fidelity. 

While in Dublin I heard of an English tourist who 
was seeing the city from an Irish jaunting car and as 
he rode along Sackville street he said to Pat : "What 
building is that?" 

"It's the gineral Post Office, sorr," he replied. 

"What do those figures represent?" 

"The apostles, sorr." 

The Englisman, thinking to get the best of Pat, 
said: "There were twelve apostles. Where are the 
others?" 

But Pat was ready with his bundle of wit, and said : 

"Why, sorr, the rest are insoide sortin' the let- 
thers." 

Dublin has a number of large churches, the largest 
being St. Patrick's Cathedral and the Christ Church 
Cathedral. The former occupies the site of a relig- 
ious edifice built by St. Patrick who Christianized Ire- 
land in 432. The cathedral is near the well from 
which he baptized his converts. The present build- 
ing was begun by Archbishop Comyn in 1 190, and re- 
stored after a portion of it was destroyed by fire in 
1370. Among the monuments in the cathedral is one 
to Boyle, Earl of Cork. There are also tablets in 
memory of some of Dublin's honored citizens of cen- 
turies ago. Christ Church Cathedral was first erected 
in 1038. It was in this church that the liturgy was 
first read in the English tongue. The Methodist, 
Presbyterian and Baptists have several fine churches. 
The Roman Catholics, which are the leading denom- 
ination, have several large chapels which seemed to be 
well attended. As I traveled through the British 

LofC. 



ioo A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

Isles and saw the vast number of churches of various 
creeds I concluded that surely no one need miss the 
"homeward way." 

The Young Men's Christian Association have a fine 
building on Sackville street. They have a large mem- 
bership of good, active Christian young men, and a 
good, live, up-to-date secretary, who has the happy 
faculty of interesting the boys in the work along all 
lines. He also has a very cordial way in receiving 
strangers. He makes them feel at home as soon as 
they enter the building. I was engaged for several 
evenings at this "Gospel Life Saving Station," assist- 
ing him and his worthy assistant and his earnest band 
of workers in throwing out the "Life Line," and they 
succeeded in rescuing about twent^five young men. 
Their custom in the meetings is to announce the num- 
ber of the hymn ; then the organist plays the melody, 
after which the hymn is read. One evening I read 
two lines of the hymn and, using an old American 
term, said : "We will sing without further lining." I 
noticed the amused look on the faces of the men and 
saw them exchanging glances. I soon found my 
term was not understood. They finally took up the 
piece and sang it. After the meeting some of them 
gathered up their books and said in a way that made 
me laugh heartily : 

"We'll sing without lining. What kind of lining 
do you mean? Sing without lining in your hat or coat 
or trousers? Who ever heard of singing that way?" 

I was very careful not to use that term again. A 
man said to me in Dublin : 

"You Yankees use a great many odd expressions. 
A Yankee asked me one day where he would strike a 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 101 

barber, and I said, 'What did the barber do that you 
want to strike him?' I soon learned," he remarked, 
that the man meant to do the barber no harm, but sim- 
ply wanted to get shaved." 

One day, in company with the secretary, called to 
see a nice-looking, intelligent young man who was se- 
riously ill. Two years previous in a meeting at the 
Y. M. C. A. hall he decided to take the homeward 
path and from that time had been a very consistent 
Christian. He well understood that his stay on earth 
was very brief. The secretary asked him how he felt 
in regard to taking the journey to the Unseen Land. 
His face brightened as he said : 

"I have no fear, sir. I settled the great question 
two years ago and am well prepared for the journey." 

A smile played over his face as he talked of the 
home beyond. He listened with rapt attention as we 
sang to him one «f Fanny Crosby's sweet hymns : 

"Some day t'he silver chords will break 

And I no more as now will sing, 
But, Oh, the joy when I awake 

Within the palace of the king." 

He died a few days afterward, singing "I shall know 
Him by the prints of the nails in His hands." His 
sorrow-stricken mother said to me : 

"He was a Christian in his home and will be greatly 
missed, but his triumphant death will always be a 
great consolation to me." 



102 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

HOSPITALS AND PARKS. 

DUBLIN has several charitable institutions and 
finely equipped hospitals. One day in com- 
pany with a friend, I called at the almshouse 
and asked permission to visit the institution. "How 
much time have you?" asked the attendant. 

"Well, I think we have about twenty minutes," I 
replied. 

"Och, sure, sir, a bird couldn't fly through in that 
time," he said. 

After going through this immense place with its 
several hundred inmates, we concluded the attendant 
was right. There are also a number of beautiful 
squares in the city. Stephen's Green is a large and 
handsome plot, surrounded by many fine homes. It 
is very tastefully laid out and contains choice plants 
and flowers and a miniature lake on whose bosom 
various kinds of water fowls can be seen. From the 
pavilion the people are treated to some excellent 
music by the band employed by the city. The Phoe- 
nix Park is on the outskirts of the city and contains 
1,700 acres of nicely laid out grounds in which are a 
number of monuments. One of them is in memory 
of the Duke of Wellington, erected by his fellow- 
townsmen in 181 7. I found an old coin at the base of 
this monument bearing the date of 1628. The Vice- 
regal Lodge is situated about the centre of the park. 
This is the Lord Lieutenant's summer home. Not far 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 103 

away is where the noted Phoenix Park murder took 
place. A very seedy looking character stood on the 
spot airing himself on the subject, expecting a few 
pence for his information. The secretary of the Y. 
M. C. A. invited me to assist in an open air service at 
the park one evening. 

"We are not troubled with the rough element," he 
said. "We usually have a very attentive audience. 

We were scarcely on the grounds when nearly a 
score of young men of the "baser sort" gathered about 
us, each bent on doing his best to break up the meet- 
ing. 

"Say, there," one of them shouted to the speaker, 
"don't be goin' round so much ; yees'll get dizzy and 
be fallin' down." 

"Hauld yer tongue," called out another; "yees 
know nothin' about it." 

But none of their remarks seemed to disturb him. 
When he had finished speaking, the secretary said : 

"We have a gentleman from America who will sing, 
accompanied by his autoharp." 

"Hello, Yankee," they shouted as they closed in 
around me. "And what do yees call that thing?" 

"It is an autoharp," I replied, as I tried to keep a 
tight rein on a laugh that was about getting the best 
of me. 

"Say, Yankee, play us a jig and I'll dance for yees," 
said a weazen-faced fellow, standing near me. 

"Hello, Yankee, give us 'Rosy O'Grady,' " shouted 
another. 

"Give us, 'There's no place like the poor house,' " 
said one of them whose appearance indicated that he 
knew by experience. I knew I should have to be on 



104 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

my guard or would be side-tracked by these bundles 
of wit and fun. Finally I lifted up my voice in song 
and soared away on some very lofty notes. But they 
struck a higher key and shouted various kinds of ex- 
pressions in rag time. But I was determined to keep 
on the main track and did so until I had passed out 
the seven verses of the piece. 

"His Satanic Majesty has made an excursion from 
the lower regions and brought the worst he had," I 
remarked. 

"Oh, this is nothing to what we have had in some 
localities," was the answer. 

After another address, of which we heard but lit- 
tle, the secretary requested me to test my voice again. 
As soon as it was announced the American would 
again take part, a chorus of voices shouted, "Hello 
Yankee, give's another song." One fellow with his 
rich brogue, said : "Say, there, give us There's no 
place like home wid the fire out.' " Then another 
shouted, "Give us 'Yankee Doodle.' " 

It was more of an effort than before to keep myself 
in a condition \o render any service. I raised my 
hand and, securing their attention, said to them: 
"Boys, if you should come to America I would not 
treat you this way." 

"Eh, that's all right, Yankee," one of them replied. 
I would have quieted them but for one fellow who 
seemed to be the leader and who was a fac simile of the 
"Old Man," whose unseen presence headed the 
crowd. 

"Listen," I said, "I will sing you a piece, entitled 
'My mother's face.' " 

"Your mother's face?" one fellow shouted. "Well, 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 105 

what kind of a face did your mother have?" "Did 
yer mother have a nice face on her?" shouted another 
fellow. "Was it a good face yer mother had?" called 
out another of the crowd. 

I could scarcely refrain from joining in the laugh 
that their remarks caused. Finally I got control of 
my risibilities and stood up in the midst of that bois- 
terous crowd and sang in a key that I'm sure was 
heard above their shouts, "Of what kind of a face had 
yer mother?" 

At the close of the service I said to them, as they 
gathered about me, "Boys, I will forgive you for 
treating me so discourteously. You come over to my 
country and see if you are treated in like manner." 

Most of this jolly, witty crowd seemed to be 
ashamed of their conduct. One of them said : "Say, 
Yankee, yees can play that thing." Another fellow, 
who had shouted himself hoarse, came up to me and 
said: "Say, Yankee, take us out and get us a porter, 
will yees?" 

But that article or something stronger had been 
partially responsible for their behavior. Several po- 
liceman were standing near, but made no attempt to 
quiet them. Only in the case of violence do they in- 
terfere. 

This excellent band of young men and women 
seemed to be undaunted. One of the workers in- 
formed me that one evening at an open air meeting 
he announced the hymn, "What can wash away my 
stains?" 

A lad shouted, "Sunlight soap, sir." 

Another gentleman whom I knew was addressing a 



106 A YAN'KEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

similar meeting in a very earnest manner. A man in 
the audience called to him and said : 

"Say, there, don't yee be makin' so much noise. 
Didn't yees know there was a woman sick at Balls 
Bridge? Yees'll be disturbin' her." 

The place referred to was three miles from the 
speaker. Any one appreciating Irish wit would find 
it difficult to keep in a devotional frame of mind at 
one of these meetings where these characters were 
passing out their wit. 

Dublin has several fine business streets along which 
are large "shops" fitted up very attractively. Of a 
pleasant afternoon these thoroughfares are crowded 
with many finely-dressed people, most of whom oc- 
cupy the many splendid homes in and around the 
city. Dublin has the reputation of having more 
handsome women than any other city in the world, 
and as one walks through its streets and sees the 
many fair-complexioned lassies with the rosy tint on 
their cheeks which nature's hand painted, and also 
those who have swept over into middle life and car- 
ried with them considerable of their youthful beauty, 
he is at once convinced that Dublin is entitled to the 
honor. In speaking of the beauty of the Dublin wo- 
men at a little gathering in a town in New Jersey one 
evening, a boy said to two young women, fresh from 
the Green Isle: 

"You had better go back to Ireland and get your 
beauty; you came over without it." 

The remark made even the blushing Irish lassies 
laugh. 

The houses of Dublin are principally built of darlc 
brick and range from two to five stories high. Dur- 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 107 

ing my stay of several months in and around this beau- 
tiful city I formed the acquaintance of several of the 
occupants of these homes, and also found that the 
"latch string" had not been shortened in the homes of 
those whom I met on my former visit. The first time 
I called at one of these homes, I was met at the door 
by two little girls who threw their arms about my neck 
and said, "Welcome to our home." But the years 
that had passed since that visit had swept these girls 
over on the verge of young womanhood, and on en- 
tering that home again they gave me a good Irish 
welcome, but did not demonstrate it as before. I 
presume they thought it might be rather embarrassing 
to their Yankee bachelor friend. These girls were 
bright and intelligent and possessed a large vein of 
wit and fun. They were ever ready to play some 
prank on me, which was thoroughly enjoyed by their 
father and mother. If I remained over night I usu- 
ally had to closely investigate my resting place, for 
they frequently had it arranged so that I would h>ve 
to readjust it before I could tuck myself away for the 
night. The many pleasant evenings spent in that 
home at Sidney Parade are among the brightest re- 
membrances of my visit to Old Ireland. Several of 
my friends whom I first met at a picnic (or tea) at the 
Hill of Howth in the summer of 1894 had not been 
content to remain in the quiet harbor of "single 
blessedness," but had secured mates and embarked 
on the "sea of matrimony." They gave me an abund- 
ance of advice "to go and do likewise," but I thought 
their matrimonial sea-faring life too brief for their ad- 
vice to have as much weight as if they had been "Old 
Salts." One of them whom I thought was a fixture 



io8 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

in the harbor during my last visit, suddenly weighed 
anchor and sailed away with a very excellent mate. 

"Come and spend the night with us," said one of 
these friends one day. I accepted his invitation and 
quite enjoyed my visit at his home. His wife was a 
sharp, witty girl and had the ready change to pass out 
to those who came her way. Her husband playfully 
remarked : 

"My wife and I were out walking the other day and 
we saw an old donkey grazing. I wanted her to stop 
and speak to her relative, but she was ashamed of him 
and passed him by." 

She turned to him, and said : "Jimmy, he was only a 
relative by marriage and I know enough of the family. 
I married you, and not the whole of them." 

I made the room ring with laughter as Jimmy took 
his change. 

When we came from the house the next morning 
we were caught in a cyclone. It was not equal to 
those we have in America, but came with sufficient 
force to take the roofs from several houses and uproot 
some of the large, old trees in the Trinity College 
grounds. We took refuge back of a stone wall, but 
the storm increased in its fury and my friend said, "We 
had better make an effort to reach home." 

The wind was blowing fiercely and the rain falling 
in great sheets. With my grip in one hand and my 
umbrella in the other, I started up the street, when a 
heavier blast carried away my umbrella, which was 
soon followed by my new Irish hat. "Jimmy" ran in 
pursuit of the run-away articles, and I braced myself 
against a nearby wall and held fast to my grip, and 
with great difficulty kept my feet which, under ordi- 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 109 

nary circumstances, prove to be sufficient ballast to 
hold me steady. I finally blindly made my way back 
to Jimmy's domicile. All the while the storm was 
wreaking vengeance on me. He overtook me with 
the hat and umbrella, which were complete wrecks. 
I was thoroughly drenched and imagined I had the 
appearance of being fished out of the Lifrey. 

"You will surely have to furnish me with a suit of 
clothing," I said to Jimmy as we entered the house. 

"Why, you could not get into my clothing," he 
replied. 

"I shall have to crowd myself into them in some 
way," I said, "for I cannot remain in this condition." 

He gave me the clothing and when I made my 
appearance there was a roar of laughter. The trous- 
ers were exceedingly brief, and the waist short of the 
size I require by several inches. I made no attempt 
to fasten the shirt. In doing so I would have found it 
difficult to have taken in oxygen. The coat was a 
very scant pattern and would have answered nicely in 
length for some I see worn now by our up-to-date 
lads. The heels of the stockings "struck" me in the 
ball of the foot. The greater part of the day I spent 
beside the open grate, much to the amusement of 
Jimmy and his good wife, and also of the servant who 
superintended the drying of my clothing. The reader 
can imagine the picture. A man towering over six 
feet high, atired in the clothing of one about five 
feet, six. 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

BREAKING OUT OF THE SOUTH AMERICAN WAR. 

i I # HERE were a great number of soldiers quar- 
ts I (s tered at the Richmond barracks on the sub- 
urbs of the city. The streets of Dublin were 
alive in the evenings with these gay-uniformed lads, 
many of whom had an Irish lass holding fast to their 
arms. Gay uniforms seem to dazzle the eyes of many 
of the lassies on both sides of the Atlantic. 

A friend in a village in Scotland requested me to 
call at the barracks and see a lad from that place. I 
found him quite a young fellow, not yet out of his 
teens. It was a case of father bringing a new mother 
into the home and the boy found it rather hard to fall 
in line with the new rules she introduced and con- 
cluded rather than submit to it to serve the good Old 
Queen. 

"How do you like the life of a soldier thus far?" I 
asked of him. 

"Oh, its a bonnie life," he replied. "I am anxious 
to get away from here, though, to some foreign coun- 
try." 

I presume that wish was gratified, for in a short 
time after my visit to the barracks the war broke out 
in South Africa and many of these boys were hurried 
away to the front, and the blood of many of them 
whom I saw in the barracks and on the streets of Dub- 
lin have stained the sands of that far-off land. The 
Inniskilling Dragoons, the Royal Dublin Fusiliers and 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. in 

the Royal Irish Rifles and the Imperial Yeomanry 
fought bravely for their country, and many of the 
English victories in South Africa are due to the brav- 
ery of the Irish soldiers. The Irish officers have also 
distinguished themselves by their ability and bravery. 
Lord Roberts, notwithstanding the fact that his son 
had just fallen in battle, when he saw the Queen's 
forces in great peril laid aside, in a measure, his sor- 
row and hurried to the front and gathered up the 
tangled threads and so wisely adjusted them as to 
bring several victories to Old England, and that with 
a comparatively small loss of life. General White, 
whose home is in the County Antrim, has made a rec- 
ord of which the Irish people are proud. Whenever 
the Queen's lads left Dublin for the seat of war there 
were usually great crowds at the quay to see them 
off. ^ M There were very often some very touching 
scenes witnessed. Sometimes was seen a mother part- 
ing with her boy or a wife saying good-bye to her hus- 
band, or some lass dropping a few tears over the de- 
parture of the lad of her choice. 

I did hear of a woman whose grief was not a bur- 
den to her. As she stood on the quay, seeing her 
husband off for the seat of war, he shouted to her : 

"Good-bye, Mary Ann." 

"Good-bye, Mike," she replied. "If yees bate the 
Boers as well as ye have me the last four years, they'll 
be well baten." 

Possibly there were others glad to have a "bit" of 
quietness in the home. I met two young men in a 
restaurant in Kahki suits who had enlisted with the 
Imperial Yeomanry. 



112 A YAN'KEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

"How do you feel about leaving for the front?" I 
inquired. 

"Oh," one of them said, "I would not mind it but 
for my mother. I am the only boy, and she takes it 
so to heart about me leaving home. I did not think 
she would feel so bad about it or I would not have en- 
listed, but there is nothing to be done now, but to go." 

"Well, when I enlisted," the other lad remarked, 
"I knew it meant going to the front, and I am anxious 
to get there, but then a fellow don't know whether 
he will get back again and that is not very consol- 
ing," he added. 

I met a poor lad on the train going from Dublin to 
Belfast, who had been wounded in one of the battles. 
He said: 

"I am only 19 years old. I am so disabled by this 
wound that I am unfitted for further service. I think 
I will get my discharge soon." And added: "My 
brother was killed beside me in the same battle in 
which I was wounded. He was a good fellow and ex- 
pected a promotion soon, but I was too fond of strong 
drink to expect anything like that. I see my mistake 
now." 

"Well," I said, "let the article alone and you can 
yet make a man of yourself." 

"I am on my way hame," he said, "but I dread 
meeting my mother for my brother and I left home to- 
gether and when she sees me coming back without 
him she will take on dreadfully." 

He was a very bright, interesting lad, who seemed 
to be made of good timber. 

One day on one of the corridor trains in going from 
Holy Head Wales, a rough looking soldier was pac- 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 113 

ing the aisle, and finally stopped at our compartment 
door and began a conversation with us. He finally 
said: 

"I'm just after gettin' out of prison in Dublin. 
Two soldiers who are in the other compartment have 
me in charge, taking me back to my company." 

"What was the cause of your imprisonment?" we 
inquired. 

"Och, sure, while we were stationed in Dublin I 
was drunk and struck a mon and nearly killed him, 
and if I had been sober I'd given him more." 

We tried a light temperance lecture on the lad, but 
he said : 

"Sure'n, I'm to fond of the bottle to be given it up." 



ii4 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. W'\ 



CHAPTER XV. 

THE DUBLIN HORSE SHOW AND A TRIP TO THE OLD FARM. 

^TrrTMLL y° u accompany us to the Dublin horse 
VXy show?" said a friend to me one day. 

■ "What is the character of it?" I inquired. 

"Oh, it is simply a display of thoroughbred horses 
and jumping competitions," he replied. 

We boarded a tram car and he and his two sons and 
I were soon helping to swell the immense crowd of 
people that were making their way into this show, 
which is said to be the largest one of the kind in the 
world. I became very much interested in looking 
at some of the fine stock on exhibition. The Ros- 
common sheep were the largest I ever saw. 

"How much do you think that sheep would weigh?" 
I asked my friend who dealt in stock. 

"Well," he replied, "It will weigh nearly 300 lbs." 

There were also several immense cows and fine 
specimens of stock of different kinds. There were a 
great number of stalls in which were some of the finest 
horses I have ever seen. It seemed there could not be 
anything more perfect in the way of horse flesh. We 
met a gentleman who had a splendid animal for sale, 
and wished us to see it. I knew something of this 
horse, for I had ridden behind him in company with 
this gentleman along some of the fine roads in County 
Wicklow and could recommend him as being fleet 
footed. My friends had to exercise a great amount 
of patience with me for I found myself stopping at 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 115 

the different stalls admiring these animals, all of which 
looked as though they had an abundance of oats. It 
was estimated there were about 15,000 people on the 
grand stand and in the general enclosure to witness 
the jumping competitions. Their Excellencies, the 
Lord Lieutenant and Countess Cadagan, were pres- 
ent, and hundreds of the elite from nearly all parts of 
the British Isles. There were also many of the pick- 
pocket brotherhood present, watching for an oppor- 
tunity to transfer the valuables of some unsuspecting 
ones to their own pockets. However, none of them 
made any attempt to lay hands on my belongings. 
The military band rendered some excellent music, 
which was greatly appreciated by that large concourse 
of people. The parade of coaches was a fine sight; 
some of them were magnificent, after which came the 
jumping competitions. Those fine animals seemed 
to spring over the banks and ditches and stone walls 
with great ease with their rider. A young man came 
out on a splendid horse and in jumping the first bank 
the horse stumbled and threw the rider, landing him 
on the broad of his back. "He has broken his neck," 
I said to one of the gentlemen. 

"Oh, I think not," he said. 

"You will find that fellow is either dead or dying." 
I further remarked. Two men ran to him with a 
stretcher and carried him off the grounds, and he died 
shortly after his removal. It cast a gloom over the 
entire gathering. Shortly after, another horse in 
jumping one of the high banks, threw the rider and I 
thought he, too, had left for the Great Beyond, but in 
a few minutes he jumped to his feet and made his way 
out of the enclosure. 



n6 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

"They are amateurs," said my friends, "and are a 
bit nervous." We made our way back to where the 
stock were. I preferred spending my time in looking 
at these fine animals, which the Irish said could not be 
excelled, and I quite agreed with them. In company 
with a young man from Boston, Mass., whom I met 
in Dublin, and one of the gentlemen who was with me 
at the horse show, I rode out to an old farm a few 
miles from Dublin. We passed through several little 
villages and then down along a fine road to the farm. 
No one occupied the house except the care-taker, who 
was a bachelor of long standing. 

"I understand this place is for sale," said the gen- 
tleman with us, to the care-taker. 

"It is sir," he replied; "would you like to see 
through the house?" 

"That is what I came for," said the gentleman. It 
was a very old-fashioned place. I presume had stood 
for a century or more. In one of the rooms was an 
old plaster paris bust of a woman which the care- 
taker said the family had left who recently removed. 
"This is the only woman about the house," said the 
care-taker, "and she is not like the most of women. 
She has nothing to say." 

As I passed through the bachelor's lonely quarters 
with nothing to break the silence save the sound of his 
Irish boots as he stepped about the carpetless floor, 
concluded 'I would much prefer having a woman that 
could talk in the old house, even though she did use 
her tongue freely in giving lectures on women's 
rights. The old farm yard and stone stables were de- 
serted. The only sign of life about this lonely spot 
was a few chickens, and they seemed concerned for 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 117 

their safety when we put in our appearance, and hur- 
ried away to the ancient looking henery. We were 
glad when the gentleman had finished looking about 
the place and we were fast leaving in the distance the 
old weird farm and its occupant. 

We drove through a very pretty section of County 
Dublin to Black Rock to the splendid home of Mr. 
W — , where we were entertained in good Irish style 
by him and his fine family. His large garden was filled 
with vegetables and choice fruits. Many of the fruit 
trees were trained against the sides of the garden wall. 
The plums and gooseberries were of extraordinary 
size. In the hot house there were grapes and toma- 
toes growing. These are grown altogether in the hot 
houses, as they will not mature in any other way in 
Ireland. One of my friends in Worcestershire, Eng., 
who has a truck farm, informed me that he had re- 
cently set out tomato plants in the field as an experi- 
ment. There is not a very great abundance of fruit 
grown in Ireland, but the quality is excellent. 

DUBLIN'S SUBURBAN TOWNS. 

There are several fine little towns in the vicinity of 
Dublin. Sidney Parade, Booterstown, Black Rock, 
Monkstown, Kingston and Bray became quite famil- 
iar to me. I spent about a month at Black Rock, 
which is about three miles from the city proper. 
There are a number of splendid homes in and around 
this place, as well as many very small ones. This 
town, as well as the others mentioned, fronts on the 
sea. All this chain of towns is reached by electric 
trams and steam cars. The ride on the top of a tram, 
which runs as far south as Dalky, is a very delightful 



n8 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

one, as the tram as well as the steam cars run along 
the sea front. These cars are well patronized, espec- 
ially on Sundays. Many of the thirsty ones from 
Dublin come out to slake their thirst at the many 
public houses in these towns. 

"Why do they leave Dublin to get a 'wee drop?" 
some one may ask. Well, they have to be a bonafide 
traveler 'three miles from home to get strong drink 
on the Sabbath. One would think there were very 
many that distance from home by the great crowds 
thronging these 1 places that are Ireland's greatest en- 
emy. 

I became acquainted with very many excellent peo- 
ple'in these towns, especially in Black Rock. I was 
invited to their homes and frequently was requested 
to assist them in relieving their well-filled tables of 
their burden' of tempting food. Some of these homes 
were occupied by those having a fine bank account 
and others counted up their shillings very quickly, 
and'' while in some places the meal was not so elaborate 
yet the hospitality was quite as abundant. The lady 
with whom I took my meals and also the one where I 
lodged, were real bundles of kindness and made my 
stay there very pleasant. The latter was a Roman 
Catholic and if every member of that denomination, 
as well as those of other creeds, were as an exemplary 
a Christian as I had every reason to believe she was, 
there would be less cause of criticism from the world. 
In conversation with her one day, she said: 

"I was very worldly-minded until my two little boys 
died. Then I thought it time to turn my attention to 
living the kind of life that would enable me to again 
see those boys. One of them," she said, "died about 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 119 

Christmas and my mother-heart was well-nigh 
broken. My clergyman came into my home and 
found me weeping. He said : 'Can't you give the boy 
to God as a Christmas gift?' Well," she said, "it came 
to me with such force that God had given His Son 
for me that then and there I gave up my boy and have 
grieved very little about him since. Then shortly 
after that I was taken very ill and the doctor had little, 
hope of my recovery. When I looked at my three 
little helpless girls I felt very anxious to live and rear 
them, but I turned to God and said, 'Thy will be done ; 
not mine.' " 

"That is what I call a fine type of Christianity," I 
remarked to Rev. D. H — of Philadelphia, who was 
stopping for a few days with me. 

We found a very excellent band of Christian work- 
ers at a little hall where we were assisting in a series 
of meetings. Two of the most prominent men in the 
work were lawyers. They not only knew how to 
untangle a poor unfortunate one from the meshes of 
the law, but also* well understood how to direct the 
transgressor of God's law to the Great Advocate who 
succeeds in getting an acquittal in every case He 
takes in hand. There was a lady that lived in one of 
the large, fine homes in the neighborhood who fre- 
quently attended the meetings. Her face was always 
an inspiration to the speaker. She had nearly 
reached three score years and ten, but she had kept 
her heart young by the grace given her by Him whom 
she sought and found when she was a young lady. 
She had so trained her sons and daughters as to cause 
them to arise up and call their mother blessed. Each 
of them had. followed the godly example of their 



120 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

mother and were actively engaged in Christian work. 

In company with some friends I dined with this ex- 
cellent woman and her family in her well ordered 
home. Each of us, I think, will treasure up the kind 
hospitality shown us in that home. One of her sons 
who was a business man in Dublin, lived in a splendid 
home a short distance from his mother's. We spent 
several pleasant evenings with him and his model wife 
and their interesting little girls. A short time after 
my arrival home, her son wrote me, saying : 

"Mother left us for her home in yon holy city." 

While that fine home is darkened by the absence of 
this mother, heaven is all the brighter by her presence. 

There was always a warm welcome awaiting me at 
the homes of the two lawyers. One of them had lived 
in the old homestead since his birth. His family con- 
sisted of himself and wife and a son and daughter. 
The latter was preparing for the foreign mission field. 
One evening in the meeting there were two very 
rough looking characters. At the close of the meet- 
ing one of them came up to me and said : 

"This mon is a mute and he's poor. Can yees give 
him enough for a night's lodgin' ?" 

I tried to carry on a conversation with him with my 
fingers, but he simply looked at me and smiled and 
made no effort to even make a sign. We all had a 
strong suspicion that the fellow could use his tongue 
in talking much better than his fingers. One of the 
workers gave them something and charged them to 
not come again on a begging expedition. The next 
evening when I came into the hall, there sat the mute 
on the front seat. At the close of the service he 
grasped my hand and shook it warmly and then 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 121 

waited until I was ready to leave. Mr. H — said to 
me: 

"There is your man waiting for you. I think you 
had better remain here for a little while." He mo- 
tioned for the mute to leave the hall for we had noth- 
ing to give him. This gentleman had met similar 
characters before. He finally crossed the street and 
joined the little fellow who was waiting near a large 
tree. We felt quite sure the fellow had the use of his 
tongue as he and his comrade made their way down 
the street. 

A lady who, in company with her daughter and a 
fine young man who resided with them, were very reg- 
ular in their attendance at the meetings. The lady in- 
vited me to spend a few days at her home. Returning 
from London to spend a fortnight in Old Ireland pre- 
vious to leaving for America, I paid a visit to this 
home. Every evening, save one, a company was in- 
vited to the: house, some of them coming out from 
Dublin. A young lady who was a fine performer 
on the piano and who had a voice filled with music, 
entertained us with some choice Irish pieces. The 
evenings were also spent in pleasant conversations, 
enriched with an abundance of Irish wit. The last 
evening I spent in that home I said to the company 
gathered there: 

"In all probability we shall never again meet on this 
Green Isle," and it would seem to be a true prophecy, 
for this good lady and her daughter and the young 
man set sail in a few months after for South Africa to 
join this lady's husband who has been there for sev- 
eral years teaching school. Since landing there, the 
young man and lady have joined hands in matrimony 



122 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

and have settled down with the old folks to spend 
their days in that far-off land. 

One evening we were invited to a home a few doors 
from where I was stopping, and I had another dem- 
onstration of good old Irish hospitality. That eve- 
ning before the company separated, they all joined in 
singing, "God be with you till we meet again." 

On Sabbath morning in company with the young 
man now in Africa, and two others, I walked to 
Monkstown and attended the Friends' meeting. 
There was an absence of the broad rimmed hats and 
the plain bonnets that one sees in the Friends' meet- 
ings in some parts of America. The meeting house 
was not quite so plain as we find in New Jersey and 
Pennsylvania, and a few nearby states. While their 
services were not so elaborate as in many of the 
Friends' meetings in Eastern and Western States, yet 
it differed from that of the primitive Friends in that 
any one feeling moved to sing was at liberty to do so. 
After a brief season of silent worship, a ministering 
Friend spoke, after which he shook hands with the 
one sitting beside him, which was the sign of dismissal. 

One Sabbath we attended service at the Black Rock 
Methodist Church. When I introduced Rev. D. H — 
to Rev. Esagan, he at once invited him to preach. 
After the service a gentleman living in a magnificent 
home sent word to the pastor that he wished us to 
accompany him home to dinner. He and his good 
wife gave us a cordial welcome to their home, and the 
reverend gentleman and myself did justice to the 
sumptuous meal. We frequently talk of our visit to 
Mr. B — 's fine, old home. 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 123 



CHAPTER XVI. 

KINGSTON! AND BRAY. 

YT7 HIS town is about six miles from the city proper. 
^ I 4) The town has a splendid sea front and one of 
the finest harbors of any seaport town in Ire- 
land. There is a long stone pier extending far out 
into the sea. From this pier the fast mail steamers 
leave for Holly Head, Wales. Back of the town the 
great hill of Killiney and Victoria Mountain lift up 
their heads several hundred feet. I spent several 
days in this town, assisting in a series of meetings held 
in one of the halls. I was entertained at the home of 
a retired naval official who, with his excellent wife, 
made my stay so pleasant that I was rather loath to 
bid them farewell. I was also entertained in another 
home, the family of whom I met on my previous visit 
to Ireland. When this gentleman showed me to my 
room he said : 

"This is the 'Prophets' Chamber.' People from 
nearly all parts of the world have occupied this room." 

He and his wife were very much interested in for- 
eign missions and returned missionaries, and those in- 
terested in Christian work always found a welcome in 
this home. One morning this gentleman and myself 
were coming into Dublin and in the compartment 
with us were several school children. One of them 
was a boy with a number of books. I said to him as 
he was busy studying his lesson : 



124 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

"Son, do you think you have room in your head to 
pack the contents of that lot of books?" 

He looked up into my face and said in a way that 
settled me : "Sir, if I haven't, I'll borrow yours, and if 
that will not do I will borrow the man's with the tall 
hat," referring to my friend. 

"I think I had better take my change and let that 
lad pass on," I said. I was as completely flattened out 
as I was by a boy in Wilmington, Del. One day a 
colored man asked me for a nickel to get a drink of 
beer. 

"I am not a friend to beer or whisky," I replied. 
"I would like to sink them down in perdition so far 
the Old Man could never get them up again." 

"Say, boss," said the colored fellow, "some folks 
say dey aint no H — ." 

"Well, I have had a foretaste of Heaven by doing 
right and of H — by doing wrong," I replied. 

"Say, mister, when did you come up?" said a white 
boy, standing near me. 

"Don't talk to that gentleman that way. He's 
talkin' common sense." 

"Well," he replied, "he said he had been down 
there. I just wanted to know when he come up." 

"Oh," I said, "he is one of those boys with a large 
head." 

"What size hat do you wear?" I inquired of the boy. 

"No. 7, sir." 

"Oh, I think a smaller size would answer." I 
walked away well assured the boy had gotten the best 
of me. 

There was a fine looking young man that attended 
the meetings several evenings, whom I was informed 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 125 

was rather inclined to be skeptical. As soon as the 
address was finished he would grasp his hat and hur- 
riedly leave the hall. One evening he came in late 
and was obliged to take a seat near the front. I pur- 
posed to have a conversation with him before he left, 
but the speaker had scarcely ended his discourse be- 
fore he had his hat and was moving rapidly toward 
the door. I hurried down the aisle and overtook him 
in the vestibule. 

"Have you settled the great question spoken of in 
the meeting this evening?" I asked. 

"I have no time now, sir, to discuss the subject," he 
replied as he adjusted his overcoat and turned toward 
the door. 

"And neither have I, and it needs but little," I said. 
"If you are in the mist and fog," I added, "about the 
truth of the Old Book, test it and you will not be long 
in getting out into< the clear sunlight." 

"I have no time to discuss it," he again remarked, 
and passed out and hurried away from the hall. 

He gave the meetings a wide berth, for I never saw 
him there again and I presume like hundreds of oth- 
ers he is still drifting about on the ocean of life with- 
out the "Old Book," which is the only chart and com- 
pass by which man can safely find his way across the 
sea of time. 

The home of Mr. C. Mansel was one of the homes 
in Kingston that I frequently visited. The family con- 
sisted of the father and mother and two sons. It was 
one of those homes where there seemed to be an 
abundance of kind consideration for each other. I 
don't think in all my travels I ever saw more devo- 
tion on the part of sons than was shown by those two 



126 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

young men. The father died while I was in Ireland, 
but that mother, who was a very refined, intelligent 
lady, was wonderfully comforted by the kindness and 
attention of her boys. If every home possessed such 
lads there would not be so many fathers and mothers 
prematurely old. 

BRAY. 

Bray is a fine old seaside resort in County Wicklow, 
a few miles from Dublin. I visited this place a 
number of times. I enjoyed the view from Bray 
Head, at whose rocky base dashed the waves of the 
Irish Sea. Only a short distance beyond were the 
Wicklow Mountains overlooking the sea. The scen- 
ery all through this county is charming. 

There are several beautiful places in the vicinity of 
Bray — The Dargle Waterfall, Glen of the Downs, 
Greystones, Devil's Glen, the Seven Churches and 
Vale of Avoca. Just across from Bray at the mouth 
of the Liffey is the peninsular Hill of Howth. It is 
the first land mark sighted on approaching Dublin 
from the sea. Howth is a pleasant village situated on 
this high hill. From the harbor one can take an ex- 
cursion boat to the island of Ireland's Eye, a huge hill 
rising up from the sea. In company with some 
friends I paid a visit to Howth and walked around the 
brow of this great hill. The Abbey of Howth is 
pleasantly located on a steep over-hanging the sea. 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 127 



CHAPTER XVII. 

THE QUEEN'S VISIT TO IRELAND. 

OSTERS could be seen in many conspicuous 
places in Belfast headed, "A cheap excursion 
to Dublin, Ireland's capital, to witness the cel- 
ebration of Her Majesty Queen Victoria's visit to Ire- 
land." And the day previous to the good old 
Queen landing at Kingston, I helped swell the crowd 
at the Great Northern Railway sation to take my 
chances of getting a seat in one of the compartments, 
and when the train was in readiness the tall form of 
the Yankee was seen making his way through that 
crowd, all of whom seemed bent on looking after 
No. 1. 

"Come in with us," said a friendly voice as I was 
peering into the compartments for a seat. I quickly 
joined this friend and two other gentlemen, one of 
whom I knew. The stranger, my friends called 
"Doctor." He evidently kept on the sunny side of 
life and had a fund of amusing stories and passed 
many of them out, much to the amusement of the 
passengers. When he learned I was from America 
he related some amusing Yankee stories, using what 
he styled the "Yankee twang." After he and those 
in the compartment had had considerable fun at the 
expense of my far-away country, I said to him : 

"Why don't you take a trip over to that great coun- 
try?" 

Giving his head a toss, he said : , 



128 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

"Oh, they would not have me over there." 

"I think they would," I replied, "for they have 
taken some pretty bad stock from this side of the 
Atlantic." 

"You're welcome to them, and more, if you like," 
was his answer. 

Then one of my friends who was still pulling in sin- 
gle harness, said : 

"I was in the company of two Yankee girls some- 
time ago and they kept 'guessing' and 'calculating/ 
and recently I met two others and they said, 'I guess 
so' and 'I calculate.' " 

"You seem to have a liking for Yankee girls, but 
it is evident they had not for you." 

We finally laid aside our pleasantries and turned 
our attention to a small child who had grown ill on 
the journey. The mother, who had several small chil- 
dren with her, said : 

"I have been traveling since very early this morn- 
ing and the child took ill shortly after leaving home." 

The doctor, who seemed to be the essence of kind- 
ness, said to the anxious mother: 

"Give me the little one." 

He took it on his lap and kindly cared for it until 
we reached Dublin. The only remedy he gave it was 
fresh air, as he sat near the door. We all felt our 
need of pure oxygen. Only those who have been ac- 
customed to traveling in our American carriages 
know of the real discomfort of taking a long journey 
in a compartment train, where one is obliged to sit in 
one position until he reaches his destination. While 
there are many things I admire in the British Isles, I 
draw the line on their railway carriages. They are 



r A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 129 

divided off into first, second and third class compart- 
ments, the only difference in them being the uphol- 
stering. The vast majority of people travel third 
class, as the fare is considerable less. At the stations 
there are usually three windows where the different 
grade tickets are sold. 

On our arrival at Dublin I found the city crowded 
with visitors and it was difficult to get hotel accom- 
modation. Thinking I might be accommodated 
at the home where I formerly boarded at Black Rock, 
I took a tram car for that place. Upon reaching 
there was informed by the lady that her rooms were 
all occupied and it would be impossible to even give 
me a place on the floor. I came out to the main 
street to take a tram for Kingston but the over- 
crowded car swept by me without heeding my signal 
to stop. Being well furnished with walking gear, I 
turned my steps toward this old town, which was a 
distance of three miles.. I had not proceeded far 
when I found my new Irish boots would make it dif- 
ficult for me to complete my journey. I was fully 
aware of the fact I was not dealing with American 
leather. One of my friends in expressing his opinion 
of the kind of material of which my boots were made, 
said it was "horse hide." But I differed with him. 
By the action they had on my feet I decided it must 
be the outer coating of some old donkey who -had 
been accustomed to drawing heavy loads of peat from 
the bogs. However, I kept my onward way along 
this fine road, on either side of which were many beau- 
tiful homes enclosed by stone walls, over the top of 
which the ivy vines were creeping. There seemed 
to be one continuous line of stone walls from one town 

__ . 9 



130 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

to another. Darkness overtook me as I was nearing 
Monkstown, which is about half-way between Black 
Rock and Kingston. In passing through this old 
town I caught sight of the channel fleet lying in and 
around the Kingston harbor. The nine battleships 
and four gunboats that had preceded the royal yacht 
to Kingston and the fine armoured cruiser "Austra- 
lia," with nearly 500 men, which had accompanied the 
royal yacht to Ireland, were all illuminated, presenting 
one of the finest sights I have ever witnessed. Upon 
reaching Kingston I had a strong desire to go out 
on the long stone pier which was thronged with peo- 
ple and get another view of the grand display in the 
harbor, but I concluded it was more important to con- 
tinue the search for a place of shelter. I knocked at 
the door of a friend to inquire if they knew where I 
could find lodging. The knock was answered by the 
mother of my friend, Mansel, who in answer to my 
question, said: 

"Come in; we are very much crowded, too, but I 
will try and give you a 'shake down' of some kind." 

I at once accepted of her invitation and laid my 
"bundle" down, and was very glad to part company 
with my Irish boots for a season. As I tucked my 
weary form away in the "shake down," I had some 
doubt about it holding me intact. It swayed so under 
my weight of 200 pounds avoirdupois that I thought 
before the day dawned it might prove to be a "fall 
down," but the "shake down" was faithful to its trust 
and carried me through the night safely. 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 131 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

THE LANDING OF THE QUEEN. 

T^TJ HE morning broke with scarce a cloud to be 
<y I 4> seen and on coming out on the crowded 
streets I heard the expression used quite free- 
ly : "This is the Queen's own weather." This was the 
Queen's fourth visit to Ireland. The first time she 
visited the Green Isle was August 5th, 1849. She 
was accompanied by Prince Albert and her four chil- 
dren : Prince of Wales, Princess Royal, Prince Alfred 
and Princess Alice. The second was August 29, 
1853, accompanied by Prince Albert, her husband, 
and the Prince of Wales. Then she came to attend 
the Great Exhibition held in Merion Square, Dublin. 
Her third visit was in 1861 when she came in com- 
pany with Prince Albert, who shortly afterward con- 
tracted his fatal illness. Each time she received a 
very enthusiastic and cordial reception. 

After an absence of thirty-nine years, which had 
swept her over into old age, she came back to "Erin," 
and received a rousing reception from her warm- 
hearted Irish subjects. I had been invited by a friend 
to occupy a window in his office in Dublin along the 
line of the parade, but on reaching the railway station 
near which was the quay where the royal yacht was 
lying, I concluded to remain and take my chances of 
seeing the royal party from this point. The trains 
and trams came in crowded with people from differ- 



132 A YAN'KEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

ent points, and as they joined the great concourse of 
people that were thronging the sea-front, one could 
scarcely get standing room. Three of my friends 
from Belfast came out on one of the trains from Dub- 
lin and, on seeing me, one of them said : 

"Why, here is the tall Yankee ; and what is he doing 
here?" 

"Oh, to catch a glimpse of Her Majesty who has 
ruled yon lads so well," I replied. And added, "But 
for making myself so conspicuous I would put my lit- 
tle Yankee flag on the end of my umbrella and wave 
a welcome in behalf of my old great-grandfather who 
lived on the old sod." 

"Och, sure," he said, "show your respects to Her 
Majesty in that way." 

"Well, it is in my heart to do so," I replied, "for I 
have always had a profound respect for the good Old 
Queen." 

In the little park lying between the station and the 
quay were a fine array of soldiers and marines, await- 
ing to escort the royal party to Dublin. The excel- 
lent band played several national airs which was thor- 
oughly enjoyed by the people. It was a good nat- 
ured crowd and Irish wit flowed in abundance. 

A short time before the procession started the at- 
tention of the crowd was attracted by a noted woman 
of Ireland riding along the sea-front in an open ba- 
rouche. She had a decided taste for green. She was 
attired in a flashy green silk dress and a green bonnet 
and held over her a huge green parasol. The horses 
and carriage were also very tastefully trimmed with 
same color. 

"She is not out in that array to welcome the Queen, 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 133 

but to show difiance to the government," said a man 
near me. I concluded she was a "wee bit" vain and 
was out for display. 

Her Majesty was to land with the royal party at 
11 o'clock, and a few minutes previous to the old 
clock in the steeple on the Court House on the oppo- 
site side of the street ringing out the hour, the band 
began playing "God Save the Queen," and while it 
was being played they lowered the Union Jack on the 
royal yacht which was the signal that the Queen had 
stepped ashore. 

The Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, George Henry, 
5th Earl of Cadogan, conducted the Queen to the 
royal carriage, after which Mr. Robinson, now Sir 
Thomas Robinson, presented an address of welcome 
from the Kingston Urban Council. Then the royal 
party began the long journey to the Viceregal Lodge 
in Phoenix Park, with a sovereign's escort of life 
guards, who were attired in very attractive uniforms. 
The Queen was accompanied by two of her daughters, 
Princess Christian and Princess Henry of Battenberg. 
The former is the third daughter of the Queen and is 
loved and respected by the nation because of her 
broad and philanthropic spirit. The latter is the 
widow of Prince Henry of Battenberg and is Her Ma- 
jesty's youngest daughter. The Queen and her 
daughters were dressed very neat and plain, even more 
so than were many of her subjects. The Queen was a 
small woman and her face showed the heavy touches 
of time and of the many storms of sorrow through 
which she had passed. I was so intent on seeing her 
that I forget to lift my hat as she was passing by. 

"Are you not going to pay your respects to our 



134 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

good old Queen?" shouted one of my friends. Then 
grasping my new Irish hat cheered and shook it until 
I thought it would soon be rimless. There was a 
great sea of hats and handkerchiefs waving all along 
the line. It kept the Queen busy bowing to the en- 
thusiastic crowd. She was also accompanied by her 
son, Prince Arthur William Patrick, Duke of Con- 
naught, Field Marshal and Commander of the forces 
in Ireland, and the Duchess of Connaught and their 
children, Prince Albert of Connaught, a young man 
about twenty years old with a fine, interesting face and 
Princess Margaret and Princess Patrician of Con- 
naught, who also had faces indicating strength of 
character. Prince Alexander, Princess Eva, Prince 
Leopold and Prince Maurice of Battenberg, who are 
the children of Prince Henry of Battenberg, were also 
in the procession. 

After the royal party had passed, I went down to 
the royal yacht, Victoria Albert, a side-wheel steamer 
that, like the Queen, showed the marks of age. It 
had carried the royal family to various points for many 
years, having been built in 1855. The sailors were 
busy unloading the Queen's effects, which were num- 
erous. The little building on the quay was com- 
pletely covered with flags and bunting and the interior 
decorated in a very elaborate manner. The gang- 
way was covered with a very handsome red material 
and the floor leading from it out to where stood the 
royal carriage was laid with a very rich looking car- 
pet. From this building all along the route to 
Phoenix Park, a distance of ten miles, was one sea of 
flags and decorations of various kinds. On coming 
from the quays I took a stroll along the sea front for 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 135 

some distance ; on either side of the avenue were poles 
erected with bright colored streamers entwined about 
them, and others stretching across the street which in 
some places formed a complete arch. The various in- 
scriptions on the beautiful banners interested me very- 
much. Among them were "God save the Queen," 
"Welcome back to Erin," "Welcome, our Queen; 
sharer of our people's sorrow." There was also one 
in the Celtic, "Cead Mille Failthe," which means "a 
hundred thousand welcomes." There was also this 
quaint one on a banner in Dublin : "Better loid ye can- 
na be; will ye na come back again?" There were 
grand stands erected all along the entire route and 
from the mansion to the smallest cottage could be seen 
Union Jacks and bunting in abundance. 

When I came out to George's street I boarded a 
tram car to Dublin from the top of which I greatly 
admired the decorations all the way to the city. We 
passed a little cottage where they were celebrating 
the event with a dance. An old man sat in the yard 
playing a very ancient looking violin and the lads and 
lassies were lifting their feet briskly, keeping time with 
the Irish jig. Sitting beside me was a young woman 
with a babe and in front of me sat two young men. 
One of them had a Kruger badge pinned on his coat 
and the other the heroes of '98. One of them said to 
me, with his rich brogue : 

"They're makin' a great time over the Old Queen. 
Why, if she had come down from Heaven they could 
not make more fuss over her." 

"Well," I replied, "she is a grand, good, old woman 
and has ruled her country well." 

"Och, well, that's true, but thin she'll have to go 



136 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

down among the midlin's along wid the rest of us whin 
she dies." 

"You are not very loyal to her, judging from the 
badge you are wearing." 

"Och, well, she or the government never done any- 
thing for us." 

Showing him my little American flag, said: "That 
is the flag I am living under and could not think of 
being anything but loyal to the country it represents." 

"That's a great country," remarked the other fel- 
low. 

"Yes," I replied, "as great as it is, if any one had 
worn a Spanish badge during our trouble with Spain, 
they would have received rough treatment." 

He smiled and said, "And is that the way you do 
over there?" 

"Is Kruger a friend of yours?" I playfully remarked 
to the one wearing the badge. 

"He is," he replied. 

"Did he ever give you a pound note?" 

"He didn't, and I wants none of his pounds, but he's 
a friend all the same," was his answer. And added, 
"I hope he never dies till they can make his coffin 
out of a gooseberry skin and the frogs take him to the 
cem'try and give him a jumpin' funeral." 

This very odd expression amused me very much. 
In reply, I said : "You evidently want the old man to 
live a long time." 

"Take that badge off, Mike, yees'll be getin' into 
trouble," said the young woman sitting beside me, 
who, I soon learned, was his wife. 

"Foil not do it ; I'm after wearin' it all day," he re- 
plied. 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 137 

"Och, we'll not get into trouble," said the other 
fellow. "No, we're not the lads that run wid the hare 
and hunt wid the hounds," remarked No. 1. 

"Take the child awhile, Mike," she said. As he 
took the little one, I remarked : 

"I have no such responsibilities as that." 

With his eyes sparkling with fun, he replied by say- 
ing: "Yer lucky; I wish I was loike yees." She 
looked at him sharply, but said nothing. 

"Does he talk that way at home?" I inquired. 

"Indade and he does not," 

By the way she said it he evidently was quite docile 
at home. 

"Well, good-bye," he said, "I'm glad I met yees." 

"And I'm not sorry I met you," I replied. 

The trio had afforded me several hearty laughs in 
the ride of six miles into the city. 



138 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

THE QUEEN IN DUBLIN. 

YT"7 HE streets of Dublin were thronged with enthu- 
<g I (9 siastic people and the public and many of the 
private residences were gayly decorated. The 
Queen had entered the city proper through the arti- 
ficial gate at the Leeson street bridge. Just inside the 
gate the Lord Mayor and the corporation had gone 
through the interesting ceremony of presenting Her 
Majesty with the keys of the city. Then Mr. Pyle, 
the Lord Mayor, made a very feeling address of wel- 
come. In reply she made the following touching re- 
marks, which I copied from one of the daily papers : 

"I come to this fair country to seek a change and 
rest and to revisit scenes which recall to mind the 
thought of losses which years must bring. The hap- 
piest recollections of the warm-hearted welcome 
given to me and my beloved husband and children. 
I am deeply gratified that I have been able at this time 
to see again the motherland of these brave sons who 
have recently borne themselves in defence of my 
crown and empire with a cheerful valor as conspicuous 
now as in their glorious past." 

During her stay of three weeks in the city, the 
Queen visited a number of charitable institutions, in- 
cluding the Royal and Adelaide Hospital and Convent 
of Sacred Heart and Masonic School for girls. 
Every pleasant day the Queen could be seen riding 
out in Phoenix Park with her white donkey. 




The Queen's Last Visit to Dublin. 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 139 

The next day after the arrival of the Queen in Dub- 
lin the report was current that the royal party would 
pass along Sackville street and great crowds of people 
thronged this wide thoroughfare. They were from 
all parts of the Old Sod, and some of them wearing 
clothing that had, the appearance of being the style 
when the Queen paid her first visit to Ireland. 
Two women promenading Sackville street, who had 
been in this old world nearly as long as the Queen, 
attracted the attention and greatly amused many of 
the passers-by. They wore immense hats, trimmed 
with flashy ribbon and very odd looking cloaks. 
They clung to the fashion of long ago, wearing rather 
extensive looking crinoline. They were pulling in 
heavily on the main sheet to avoid having it trail in 
the mud. Their antiquated dress was drawn so tight 
over the crinoline as to cause it to bob quite vigor- 
ously. One man, as he surveyed them, said : "Sure 
every two's a couple." 

I saw a crowd gathered near the O'Connel bridge 
and my curiosity led me to go over and learn the 
cause. A donkey attached to a little cart had con- 
cluded to take a rest and had lain down. A crowd of 
boys were doing their best to get him on his feet. 
They were lifting from the head and centre and the 
rear. But Billy remained firm. The old woman 
looked the embodiment of patience as she sat on the 
produce in the cart. 

"Loosen up this strap," said a young woman as she 
walked up to the scene of action. In obeying orders 
they neglected to take hold of the shafts and I saw 
the old woman's feet going up along with the shafts. 
We thought she and the produce were about being 



140 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

thrown into the street, but a man standing near laid 
his great, brawny hand on the swift ascending shafts, 
just in time to save the old woman from changing her 
quarters. 

"Aunty," I said, "your donkey does not seem in- 
clined to get up." 

With an unconcerned look on her face, she said : 
"Well, I don't know wither he does or not." 

Finally the donkey was forced to his feet and the 
old woman drove away amid the shouts of the boys. 

Among those who came out to see the sights was 
a little, old man wearing a low-topped hat which was 
well perforated and a dilapidated old coat. His 
trousers were tucked inside of a long pair of stockings 
which originally were white but had gone into mourn- 
ing, and corresponded with his heavy brogans. He 
had drank too frequently to the Queen's health to 
navigate properly and was making his way up Sack- 
ville street against tide. Back of him was a tall, stal- 
wart looking woman, evidently his wife. She was 
driving him to their domicile. 

"Go home, wid yees, and don't be stoppin'," she 
said to him. 

The boys saw the funny side of the picture and be- 
gan shouting at him. The old man would insist on 
stopping and settling with the lads but the old woman 
kept him on the move, much to the amusement of the 
people. The illuminations in the evening were mag- 
nificent. The Bank of Ireland and Trinity College 
and Custom House were illuminated with different 
colored electric lights and attracted the attention of 
the immense crowds of people that thronged the 
streets. There was also a fine display of fire works 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 141 

from the top of the Nelson monument. Standing 
near the O'Connell bridge I overheard a soldier say- 
to two lassies : "It's the Duke of York." 

"No, I think not," said one of the girls. "It's the 
Emperor of Germany." 

I soon discovered they were having a "bit" of fun 
at my expense. Turning to them, I said : 

"It is neither of the two persons mentioned, but 
some one equally as good." They made no answer, 
but I presume they had a difference of opinion about 
the tall Yankee being made of the same kind of clay 
as the two individuals to whom they referred. 

Among the tide of humanity I met in going over 
the O'Connell bridge was an old lass well charged 
with whisky. She was hatless and bare-footed, wear- 
ing a tattered dress which was exceedingly brief. 
She stepped up to me and grasping my arm, said : 

"How are yees? I think I'll be goin' wid ye." 

"Not on such a short acquaintance as this," I re- 
plied. 

Loosening her grasp I hurried away and in doing 
so she gave me the length of her tongue, which was 
far-reaching. 

The day the Queen set apart to review the children 
in the Phoenix Park, the old city was crowded with 
juveniles from all parts of Ireland. At a very early 
hour the trams and vehicles of all kinds were 
crowded with sight-seers making their way to the 
park. In company with a friend I boarded a tram 
and was soon mingling with the crowd in the park. 
We took our position and waited the coming of the 
Queen. On either side of this long driveway, on 
which the review was to take place, could be seen 



142 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

thousands of Ireland's future men and women. 
Their ranks were constantly being swelled by bands 
of children with banners designating from what school 
and part of the country they came. Long before the 
appointed time for the Queen to leave the Viceregal 
Lodge in the park where she was entertained, every 
available spot was taken. Far up the driveway we 
saw the royal procession coming. There was one 
sea of flags and handkerchiefs waving and far up the 
line we could hear the immense crowd cheering lustily 
which was taken up by others as the Queen rode down 
along one side of the wide driveway. The royal car- 
riage turned to go back on the other side within a 
short distance of where we were standing which af- 
forded me a much better view of the Queen than I 
had at Kingston. There was a pleased expression 
on the face of the good old Queen as she passed along 
amid the cheers of her warm-hearted Irish subjects. 
It was estimated there were 52,000 children in the re- 
view. 

The last great event previous to the Queen leaving 
Ireland was the review of the troops, including the 
naval brigade from the channel fleet. There were 
8,000 of her troops in the review and it was estimated 
that it was witnessed by 150,000 people. Her Ma- 
jesty sailed from Ireland April 28th, which proved to 
be her last visit to her loyal subjects on the Old Sod. 
Now the head that once wore the magnificent crown 
which I saw at the Tower of London lies low in the 
tomb at Frogmore, but I think the Christian world 
has every reason to believe by the life she lived, she 
has passed into the presence of the Great King of 
Kings to wear a never-fading crown. 




Belfast, Ireland. 




Wishing Chair, Giants' Causeway. 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 143 



t CHAPTER XX. 

BELFAST. 

MS one sails up the Belfast Lough which is joined 
near the city by the river Lagan, his ears are 
greeted by the hundreds of hammers at the 
Queen Island ship and boiler making and engineering 
works of Harlan & Wolf, which is said to be the larg- 
est ship building works in the world. They employ 
from 7,000 to 9,000 men. Just a few days previous 
to my coming from Glasgow to Belfast, they launched 
the Oceanic at these works. The passengers crowded 
to the side of our steamer to see this, the largest, craft 
afloat. She was lying at one of the docks, being fitted 
up by hundreds of workmen. She is one of the White 
Star line steamers and is now plying between New 
York and Liverpool. All the fleet of this line were 
built at these extensive works. One day I assisted 
in a service at the noon-day meeting held in the large 
dining room at the works. While some of the em- 
ployees were attending to the wants of the inner man 
we sang to them of Him who gives to the hungry 
ones that bread that never perisheth. After they had 
finished their meal a colored temperance lecturer from 
York, Pennsylvania, who had been engaged in tem- 
perance work in the British Isles for a few years, gave 
the men a short address. His witty and quaint re- 
marks frequently brought forth a roar of laughter 
from those fun-loving Irishmen, 



144 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

"Boys," he said, "you that go to the public house 
and spend your hard earnings for strong drink, havn't 
as much sense as a barn yard fowl, for they will 
scratch out the wheat and leave the chaff ; but you fel- 
lows take the chaff and leave the wheat with the pub- 
lican." Then he added : "Some folks say that whisky 
is very strengthening. Well, so it is, and when you 
get it for that purpose buy the very best, but the only 
thing it will strengthen will be your breath." They 
made the dining-room ring with laughter at this re- 
mark. As he spun his witty expressions through his 
brief temperance lecture one could scarcely decide 
whether Irish or colored wit was on the lead. . 

On the opposite side of the Lough is the extensive 
ship yards of Messrs. Clark & Workman, where sev- 
eral thousand men find employment. On either side 
of the river Lagan are quays at which can 'be seen 
many large vessels. There are also several lines of 
steamers plying between several points in England, 
Ireland and Scotland. This river divides the districts 
of Ballymacart and Mt. Pottinger from the city proper 
and winds around the city, then on through a pretty 
section of the country. It is not navigable beyond 
Belfast. It is spanned by several fine bridges. The 
principal one being the Queen's bridge. This bridge 
I shall always have occasion to remember, for one eve- 
ning in company with some friends on my way to the 
County Down station to take a train for one of the 
suburban towns, just as I was crossing the crowded 
street to the foot path of this bridge, I was truck by 
the shaft of a heavy van and knocked on the broad of 
my back. I found myself in close proximity to the 
hoofs of a huge draft horse which the driver and the 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD, 145 

crowd were trying to keep from pressing my tall form 
out of its normal shape. I quickly took in the situ- 
ation and rolled away from the danger line, and as I 
did so, received a complete mud bath. On regaining 
my feet, one of the crowd asked me whether I was in- 
jured, and one of my friends said my answer was : 

"I'm hurt, but not killed," but being rather dazed 
I was not expected to give a very clear answer. 

"I am injured and am going back home," I said to 
one of these friends. 

"You're not hurt at all," he replied, and, gathering 
up my hat, said, as he placed it on my head : "Hurry 
along or we will miss the train." 

The old man got off of the van and came up to me 
and said: 

"Sure, I did me best to keep me animal from yees." 

"Oh, don't distress yourself," I replied. "It was 
not your fault ; I should have been more careful." 

On entering the compartment with my clothing and 
face profusely decorated with street mud, I attracted 
the attention of all the passengers, some of whom 
cast suspicious glances, but I soon disabused their 
minds of the idea that I had been tripped by "John 
Barley Corn." On my arrival at the home of my 
friend, Mr. Holden, I had to be hauled out on the ways 
for repairs. 

Belfast can boast of no very ancient history. In 
the middle of the seventeenth century it was a small 
town with only about five unattractive little streets, 
and yet it is spoken of in history as being the great 
business centre of the North of Ireland, but it has 
grown from this humble place to a beautiful city of 
over 300,000 inhabitants. Its people have always 

10 



146 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

been noted for their business tact and thrift. As one 
walks through its streets, crowded with many finely 
dressed people, patrons of the many large and hand- 
some shops that line these thoroughfares, he at once 
concludes that the people are quite up to date and 
that the merchants and business men generally pos- 
sess the same snap and business tact that is said char- 
acterized their forefathers. 

The bank buildings of Messrs. Leidlie, Fergurson 
& Co., a wholesale and retail department store is one 
of the finest business houses in Ireland. Anderson 
& McCauley, and Robinson & Cleaver, have also 
massive department stores. Many of these large es- 
tablishments are fitted up with sleeping apartments, 
dining halls and reading rooms for the accommoda- 
tion of their employees. Many of them coming into 
the city as strangers find a comfortable home who 
would otherwise be compelled to seek one in some 
cheerless boarding house. 

There are many manufacturing places scattered 
over the city. The York street flax spinning mills is 
the largest concern of the kind in the world. The 
works occupy an area of over four acres and the num- 
ber of employees is something over 4,000. The 
works contain 57,000 spindles and 1,000 looms. Fre- 
quently I have passed these mills when the employees 
were coming from work and found it rather difficult 
to stem this great tide of humanity. I noticed that 
many of the women and girls coming from this and 
other mills in the city were hatless and bare-footed. 
I could scarcely account for any one having employ- 
ment being in such a condition. Possibly they pre- 
ferred nature's boots to leather ones. 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 147 

Belfast can also boast of the largest rope works in 
the United Kingdom, if not in the world. It covers 
upward of twenty acres in a number of one-story 
buildings. They have nearly 3,000 employees. I 
met a salesman in Belfast whom I knew very well, 
who was representing a large rope manufactory in 
Glasgow. He came up to me and said, in his usual 
humorous manner: 

"I am selling hanging rope; don't you want a 



piece 



"Well, no," I replied, "I shall not move out of my 
old clay cabin until I am sent for." 

Gallagher's tobacco place is said to be the largest 
in the British Isle. Most of their tobacco is imported 
from America. Judging from the great number of 
pipes one sees in use, the home consumption is quite 
large. There are many other large places in the city 
where can be heard the hum of the wheels of industry. 



148 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 



CHAPTER XXI. 

SOME OF THE CHURCHES. 

BELFAST can well be called the "City of 
Churches." There are 128 places of worship 
of various kinds. The Presbyterians are the 
leading denomination. They have thirty-eight places 
of worship and ten others holding their principles. 
According to the statistics, they have a membership 
of 94,451. I have attended several of their churches 
and most of them are quite large and very well at- 
tended. In attending a service at one of the finest 
Presbyterian churches in the city, I was surprised 
when I found they had no organ. But their excellent 
choir sang beautifully and the sweet strains filled 
every nook and corner of that handsome church. I 
formed the acquaintance of a number of Presbyterian 
and Methodist clergymen in the city, and also came to 
know very many of their people, most of whom were 
very earnest Christians. 

The Church of Ireland (Episcopal) has twenty-four 
churches and a membership of 81,000. The Roman 
Catholics have ten churches and number about 80,- 
000. The next in numbers is the Methodists. They 
have twenty-nine places of worship and a member- 
ship of 15,000. The Carlisle Memorial Methodist 
Church is one of the largest and finest churches in the 
city. It is a massive stone edifice with a large school 
building attached. There are three Baptist and four 
Unitarian and one Moravian Church. The Friends 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 149 

also have a large meeting house and the Plymouth 
Brethren have a nice place of worship. The Jewish 
Synagogue is quite a fine building. The Grovenor 
Hall, a large Mehodist Mission under the direction of 
Dr. Crawford Johnson, has a seating capacity of 3,000. 
On Sunday afernoons and evenings is is usually 
crowded with attentive hearers of the Word. This 
mission has accomplished a vast amount of good in 
gathering in a class of people that in all probability 
the churches could not have reached. 

I attended service there one Sunday afternoon and 
listened to an evangelist relate the story of his life, 
which was both amusing and pathetic. He was a man 
with very little education. In fact, could not read un- 
til after his conversion. 

"I began taking strong drink," he said, "when a 
small boy and grew up a wild, reckless youth, and 
married when I was young; we lived a wretched life. 
I spent nearly all my earnings for drink. The land- 
lord frequently threatened to put us out of the little 
room in which we lived. I told him that would be 
easily done for we had nothing to put out. When we 
went to bed we were not afraid of breaking our necks 
if we fell out, for we slept on the floor on a long 
feather bed (a bundle of straw). I was in the hands 
of the police most of the time and generally gave them 
lots of trouble in getting me to the lock-up. After 
loosing my first wife I thought I would stop drinking, 
but kept on and finally got married again and treated 
this wife badly. One Sunday afternoon I was taking 
a 'gander' (or walk) down to the quays and in passing 
the custom house in front of which they were holding 
an open air meeting I heard the minister say some- 



ISO A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

thing that caused me to stop. And I said, who has 
been telling that man about me? As I listened to this 
good man preaching I felt myself to be a poor, lost 
sinner and although ignorant of how to come to God, 
for I could not read and had never prayed, in a few 
days I found the better life and soon learned to read 
my Bible. The people would like to call me Mr. and 
me wife Mrs., but I won't let them. Whoever heard 
of them saying in the Bible, 'Mr. Peter' or 'Mr. Paul' 
or 'Mrs. Mary Magdalene.' " 

This remark caused a ripple of laughter to pass over 
that large audience. 

"Many of you people have an education, but don't 
know anything about salvation. Of the two," he 
said, "I would rather have me head empty than me 
heart." 

I had some trouble at times to keep my risibilities 
under control as I listened to this man, with his rich 
brogue, tell this story, but was greatly profited by it. 
This man in giving his gospel talks may not weave in 
his sentences as neatly as do some others, yet for the 
past twelve years he has gone through England, Ire- 
land and Scotland telling the story of the cross in his 
homespun way and has been instrumental in leading 
very many from lives of sin to the better one. 

Rev. Henry Montgomery, one of Ireland's most in- 
fluential ministers of the Presbyterian body, also has a 
large mission hall on Shankhill road. This is on the 
site of a little mission that he organized several years 
ago. This hall is fitted up expressly for mission 
work. Hundreds of people have been gathered into 
that building and being brought under the power and 
influence of the gospel have been led from lives of 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 151 

wickedness to one of real joy. He has what he styles 
"a pleasant Saturday night for the people." He ar- 
ranges entertainments of various kinds which, judg- 
ing from the vast number that crowd that large hall, 
are appreciated by the people of that densely popu- 
lated district. I rendered some service there one Sat- 
urday evening and when it was announced I was from 
near Philadelphia, the boys in the audience shouted 
lustily : "We're off for Philadelphia in the morning." 

Rev. H. Montgomery has quite a large family. 
One of his daughters is in the foreign mission field. 
His excellent wife and most of his children assist him 
in his great work. He is a very busy man, as he is 
also pastor of a large church. There is a mission 
school connected with this hall in which I saw chil- 
dren bare-footed and in tattered garments. A gen- 
tleman was telling me that some one in addressing 
these children one afternoon, asked this question: 

"When your father and mother forsakes you, who 
takes you up?" One of these little street arabs 
shouted, "The perliceman, sir." That no doubt had 
been the boy's experience and the shelter given them 
by the police was far preferable to what the drunken 
father and mother provided. One little fellow said to 
a friend of mine, as he came out of the Y. M. C. A. 
hall one cold night : 

"Will yees buy me matches?" 

"No, I don't need them," the man replied. 

After the bare-footed boy had urged him to buy 
them and failed to make a sale, the boy thought he 
would try quoting Scripture. He looked up into my 
friend's face and said: "The Lord is my Shepherd, 
but I does want." He sold his matches. 



152 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

The Young Men's Christian Association have a 
fine, large building and a very large membership. It 
has two halls ; the largest one has a seating capacity 
of 2,000 which, at the Sunday afternoon meetings is 
crowded. I have seen the card out with the notice, 
"Hall full," and a great crowd of people outside anx- 
ious to gain admission. They have a very interesting 
service there every Sabbath afternoon. The secre- 
tary, who is a member of the order of bachelor's of 
long standing, is well adapted for Y. M. C. A. work. 
He went to the seat of war in South -Africa while I 
was in Belfast, not to take up arms against the Boers, 
but to try and induce the Queen's brave lads to also 
enlist in the army of the "Great King of Kings" and 
fight against the Prince of the Power of Darkness. 
The night previous to his leaving he spent the eve- 
ning at the home of one of Belfast's highly respected 
citizens, whose son had enlisted in the "Imperial Yeo- 
manry" and had gone to the front. 

"What shall I bring you from South Africa when I 
return?" said the secretary to the good lady of the 
house. 

"Oh, bring me back my son, is all I ask," was her 
reply. Her remark deeply affected the entire com- 
pany. 

Only a short time after the departure of the secre- 
tary for that far-off country, death entered that ele- 
gant home and laid his cold hand on that excellent 
Christian wife and mother. The day I saw that large 
concourse of people follow her remains to the ceme- 
tery her boy was killed at Lindley by one of the Boer 
sharp shooters and his tall, handsome form was hid- 
den away beneath the sands of South Africa, making 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 153 

the cloud hanging over that once happy home all the 
darker. The trooper-boy and his mother will meet 
no more on the Green Isle, but have met on a hap- 
pier shore where love's golden links can never be 
broken. 

The following is taken from "Irish Manhood:" 

"On the eve of his departure for South Africa our 
beloved General Secretary was on a visit to the house 
of a well-known Belfast gentleman, who has a son 
serving Queen and country with the Imperial Yeo- 
manry at the seat of war. 'What shall I bring you 
back on my return?' asked Mr. Black of the lady of 
the house ere saying the last farewell. Straight from 
the mother's heart came the answer — 'Bring me back 
my son.' The touching incident suggested the fol- 
lowing lines, which will be read with deep and pa- 
thetic interest by our entire membership. The 
writer, Mr. C. J. Butler, of America, recently con- 
ducted a successful Gospel mission in connection with 
the Dublin Y. M. C. A., and during a brief visit to 
this city addressed meetings in the Albert Hall, Shank- 
hill Road. Mr. Butler is the author of the familiar 
and much-used hymn, 'I was once far awav from the 
Savior:'" 

" BRING ME BACK MY SON." 

"One of old England's no'ble sons, 

Was 'bound for Attic's golden strand, 
His mission was to suffering ones, 

Mid scenes of carnage in that land. 
He said to one whose son so brave 

Had gone forth at his country's call, 
What gift dost thou from Afric crave? 

Bring back my son, she said., is 'all... 



154 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

■ N Pj 

"Then to the father said in turn, 

What treasure shall I bring to thee? 
My boy, he said, o'er whom I yearn; 

He's more than all earth's gold to me. 
I on my country's altar laid 

My cherished one, my pride and joy, 
This is 1 the gift I ask, he said, 

Oh, bring me back my trooper boy. 

"Oh, sisters who in' silence weep 

For him in danger far away, 
Bright gems from o'er the stormy deep 

Shall I bring you some distant day? 
No, when sweet peace, the white-winged dove, 

Is seen o'er Afric's wide domain, 
Bring back the one we fondly love, 

To home, and loving ones again. 

"Oh, maiden in love's happy dream, 

Would' st thou have diamonds rich and rare, 
That sparkle like the bright sunbeam, 

To deck thy form, oh, maiden fair? 
No, these would be but dross to me, 

And, without him would give no joy, 
Oh, bring me back, across the sea, 

The one I love, my trooper boy. 



"A SWEET RE-UNION" 

"From Afric's strand sped o'er the main 

A message fraught with midnight gloom. 
'Your trooper boy is with the slain, 

And sleeps now in his rude made tomb.' 
His mother's spirit too, had flown, 

To yonder world of peace and joy, 
Where hearts will ne'er grow sad and lone. 

She welcomed home her trooper boy." 

Belfast has several large colleges and halls of learn- 
ing, and there are about 200 national schools, twenty 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 155 

of them being under the direction of the Roman Cath- 
olics, and the others under the different Protestant 
denominations. I visited one of these schools and 
just before the principal introduced me, he asked the 
children if they had ever heard of America. They all 
shouted, "Yis, sir." 

"Well," he said, "this gentleman is from that far- 
off country." They looked at me as though they 
thought the lads in America reached a great height, 
as well as many of those in Old Ireland. 

He catecised them on several subjects. One of 
them was the war in South Africa. Their answers 
gave abundant proof of them being well informed as 
to the names of the generals and of their movements. 

"Was England ever whipped?" he asked. 

"Yis, sir," shouted a little, rosy-faced boy. 

"Well, who did it?" 

"America," the boy replied. 

"Well, do you think these two great nations would 
ever engage in war with each other again?" he asked. 

"No, sir," they all shouted in a very high key. 

"Well, why?" 

"Because, sir, we're cousins," said the rosy-faced 
boy. 

"Yes," I said, "that is true, and while we might have 
our little family jars, yet I scarcely think we will ever 
come to blows which, if we did, would be disastrous 
to both countries." 

As one sees the number of charitable institutions 
and finely-equipped hospitals in Belfast he at once 
concludes that the people of this city have an abund- 
ance of the "milk of human kindness." I visited the 
old hospital on Fredrick street, which was erected in 



156 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

1 817, and in passing through the different wards 
where the sufferers were being so kindly cared for, I 
was more fully convinced than ever that these institu- 
tions were an untold blessing to the world. The 
municipal buildings are quite large and are built of 
brick and sand stone, the interior of which is finely 
finished. The city government consists of the Lord 
Mayor, who is elected once a year, and councilmen 
who are elected every three years, and aldermen every 
six years. The present building has proven inade- 
quate for the city and they are erecting a massive 
building which will be quite an ornament to the city. 
The adjoining suite of buildings is the Magistrate's 
Courts and constabulary and detective offices and 
city lock-up. One day in passing this building in 
company with some friends I saw them drive up with 
a wayward sister very much the worse for strong 
drink. Seated beside her on the Irish jaunting car 
was a huge policeman. She seemed to have enjoyed 
the ride and objected to getting off the car, but the 
policeman insisted on her changing her quarters and 
led her into the office and introduced her to the 
magistrate. We followed hard after them, but had 
scarcely crossed the threshold of the door when one 
of the officers said, with his heavy brogue: "Yees 
must go out." 

One of my friends said to him : "This gentleman is 
from America and wishes to remain a little while, and 
then look through the other part of the building." 

"You can do so, with pleasure," he replied. 

There was another woman who had taken a "wee 
drap of the crater" and was about being committed 
by the magistrate. She was trying to convince the 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 157 

police that her spinal chord was severed, but he 
thought otherwise and led her out to the cell. As 
he did so she walked far back on her heels and said, 
"Me back's broke." 

"Here comes a woman with a broken back," said 
the police to the officer in charge. "Take her to the 
hospital," he said, with a vein of humor in his remark. 

She straightened up and said, "I'll be taken yees 
there." 

"Oh, bring her along ; she talks well for a woman 
with a broken back," said the officer. 

When they brought the other woman to the cell 
she was reasoning the case with the police. 

"I'm not drunk. Let me go home to the children," 
she remarked. But the proof was strong against her. 
They gave her quarters with the other sister, and as 
they closed the door she shook it violently and 
shrieked and shouted, "Let me out of this!" She 
ran her arms through the apperture in the door and 
said to me: "Have yees any marcy? If yees have, 
take me out of this." 

"Have yees any children of yer own? If yees have, 
take me out and let me go home to my children." 
She was appealing to the wrong one for parental 
sympathy, and it took shillings instead of mercy to 
open the prison door, so we left her begging for lib- 
erty. 

"That is rather a wild character," I remarked to the 
officer. 

"Oh, she is tame to some we will have by mid- 
night," he said. 

One of the police kindly offered to take us through 
their quarters, which we found fitted up very comfort- 



158 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

ably. This officer was a tall, fine looking fellow. He 
said : "I am the champion lifter of Belfast," and then 
wishing to demonstrate his ability gathered up a huge 
weight and held it out at arm's length with seeming 
ease. 

As he set it down he clinched his fist and remarked, 
"I seldom use my baton on a man; I usually bring 
him to terms with that." As I looked at his huge fist 
I concluded that I would not attempt to use any re- 
sisance if that fellow took hold of me. 

"There is a noted character," he added; "that is 
under arrest most of the time. His head is so bat- 
tered up that it is one grand scar. I usually bring 
him without blood shed." 

These officers are all members of the constabulary 
and are picked men from different parts of Ireland. 
This officer was one of Tipperary's tall sons. 

The main office and station of the Fire Brigade is 
near by. It is said to be one of the most complete in 
the United Kingdom. Their steamers and apparatus 
are all up-to-date. They also have a finely (drilled 
ambulance corps. Back of the building is a court 
yard, around which are the homes of the firemen who 
have families. 

There are also very comfortable quarters for the 
lads who have never found the partner of their life. 
On coming out of this building I met the Rechabite 
parade. Several hundred of Ireland's sons and 
daughters were in line. They were accompanied by 
several brass bands. I was glad to learn that this tem- 
perance organization was increasing in numbers. If 
every son and daughter of Erin would take on them 
this vow the brewers and distillers would have to give 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 159 

up business and the bulk of Ireland's trouble would 
be at an end. 

The residential portion of the city contains very 
many splendid homes, most of them surrounded by 
beautifully laid-out grounds. These homes are proof 
that the occupants have succeeded in gathering an 
abundance of shekels and that their checks would be 
honored at one or more of the many substantial banks 
of the city. y -; 

Belfast is the most American like city that I visited. 
As one walks its streets he can scarcely realize that he 
is 3,000 miles from the United States of America. 
The red brick houses built in rows strikingly resem- 
ble an American city. Belfast is far behind Dublin 
and many other cities in the United Kingdom in her 
street car system, or trams, as they style them. The 
antiquated horse cars are still in use, but this is owing 
to the company's charter expiring soon, after which 
the city corporation expect to operate the lines, and 
the company will not go to the expense of introduc- 
ing the electric trams. The street cars and omnibuses 
have additional seats arranged on top and the cars 
are not supposed to carry more passengers than can be 
seated. In the Belfast trams can be seen this unique 
notice : 

"Spitting in the trams is a filthy habit. Any one 
committing this offence will render themselves liable 
to the disgust and loathing of their fellow passengers." 

On the outside of the car is this gentle reminder to 
men who are given to crowding into the trams ahead 
of women and children. It reads as follows : 

"Life Saving Rules. — Women and children first." 

On paying the fare the passengers receive a 



i5o A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

punched ticket which they are supposed to retain un- 
til the inspector boards the car and requests to see 
them. 

There are several beautiful little parks in and 
around the city. The botanical gardens are in a very 
pretty part of the city and are nicely laid out and con- 
tain many choice plants and flowers. 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 161 



CHAPTER XXII. 

MY RETURN TO BELFAST. 

FTER a trip to Dublin and through England, 
I returned to Belfast and remained several 
months. Shortly after I was introduced to 
the mother of the gentleman where I lodged, she said : 
"Why, he is a very homely man," referring to me. I 
should not have felt very highly complimented had I 
not known the term was applied differently in Ireland 
than in America. There it has no reference to the 
undesirable looking face that one might unfortunately 
possess, but it means a very plain, domestic person. 

It was difficult sometimes to fit some of their ex- 
pressions where I was accustomed to place them. 
One day in Canterbury, England, in company with a 
friend I called at a house and in the course of conver- 
sation I was surprised at one expression he used. 
"How is your son?" he inquired of the gentleman. 
"He was a bit queer when I was here last." 

I at once thought the lad's mental furniture was dis- 
arranged, but in further conversation I learned the 
young man was in poor health. On coming from the 
house, I said to my friend : "You have a strange way 
of putting things as well as we Yankees." He 
laughed heartily when I told him how I understood 
his term. 

Little Jim, a rosy-faced, intelligent boy, who was 
an orphan and who lived with Mrs. D — 's sister, came 
around every morning to know if she had any mes- 



II 



i62 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

sages she wanted done (or errands). Sometimes in 
giving him her grocery order she would tell him to 
get a half stone of potatoes. 

"What do you mean by that?" I asked one morn- 
ing. 

"Why, they sell potatoes by the weight," she re- 
plied. "Fourteen pounds is a stone." 

To me it seemed a very strange order to give. 
Apples and tomatoes are also sold by the pound. 

While the home where I lodged wasjiot one of the 
fine mansions of the city, yet it was a comfortable 
home-like place. This woman was the real essence 
of kindness and made my stay very pleasant. She 
had passed through considerable sorrow, having lost 
her husband and shortly afterward one of her sons 
was drowned, and closely following that bereavement 
her eldest son was accidentally shot and died in a few 
days. She had scarcely rallied from that great shock 
when her only daughter, a very promising young 
woman, was stricken down with disease and left the 
old home. Sometimes on coming into the house I 
would find her in tears, but she would soon brush 
them away and pass out wit and fun in abundance. 
She had four sons living, of whom any mother could 
well be proud. One day as she stood in the door 
way, two men repairing the pipes in front of the 
house, said to her on seeing me in the parlor : 

"Tell that mon to send us out the price of a drink." 

"He does not believe in strong drink," she replied. 

"Well, thin, tell him to give us the scud of a 
prayer," one of them said. It occurred to me it 
would take more than a scud of a prayer to lift from 
those lads the desire for a wee drap. 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 163 

"Mother, pull the curtain down," said her son one 
evening; "some one will be stealing you sometime." 

"Any one seeing me in the daylight would not be 
climbing over the garden wall after me at night," she 
replied. 

I became acquainted with several very fine fam- 
ilies in this and other sections of the city and spent 
many pleasant evenings with them in their homes. 
Some of these domiciles were large and furnished 
very elaborately and others were humble little places, 
but the warm-hearted hospitality was the same in 
one as the other. 

One evening we attended a church fair a short dis- 
tance from my lodgings. Over the door of the 
church the Union Jack and the Stars and Stripes were 
blending very harmoniously, and the interior was very 
tastefully trimmed with bunting and flags, "Old 
Glory" being conspicuous in the decorations which 
made the affair seem quite American-like. The fair 
was conducted in a similar manner to those I have at- 
tended in "Yankee Land." The young ladies at the 
tables with various articles for sale were just as per- 
sistent in exchanging these articles for cash as are 
Uncle Sam's daughters. I was besieged with children 
selling "bottles of scent" and trinklets of different 
kinds who, for ability to leave their goods with one 
and carry away his loose change, equalled "Young 
America." I became very well acquainted with the 
pastor of this church, who was one of the most earn- 
est Christian ministers that I met in my travels. 



164 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

SOME WITTY BOYS I MET. 

I BECAME very much interested in a great many 
of the boys on the street, and frequently I would 
stop and have a conversation with them, and 
found most of them very bright and witty. I was 
standing at the Castle Junction one evening waiting 
for a Lisburn road car, when one of these news-boys, 
bare-footed and poorly dressed, ran up to me and 
shouted : "Sixth edition ! Full account of the bom- 
bardment of Hell street." 

"Oh, I am not interested in that locality," I replied. 
"I am trying to behave so I can go to the better coun- 
try." 

"Well, I'm not; I'm goin' down. I go down an 
inch and quarter every day," he replied, as he winked 
his eye to another boy of the same stripe. 

A little red-haired, speckled-faced boy standing 
near said, as he looked up into my face with his eyes 
sparkling with mischief: "I'm goin' up, too, sir." 

"Well, whin yees does it will be wid a rope 'round 
yer neck," said the witty news-boy. 

"You can't get far ahead of these street arabs," I 
remarked to a man standing beside me. 

"It's not worth your while trying," he replied, and 
further remarked : "One cold night I was waiting here 
for a tram and two bare-footed news-boys were teas- 
ing each other about the size of their feet. One of 
them said : 'Lem, how do yees keep yer feet warm?' 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 165 

" 'Och, sure, and I stands on me toes,' was his reply. 

' 'Well, sure/ said the other urchin, 'and it must be 
a queer height yees are whin yees stands on yer toes.' " 

"Where did you get your shoes?" I said to a bare- 
footed boy one day. 

"Och, sure, sir, God gave them to me; they cost 
me nothin' and their goin' to last me a queer while," 
was his quick reply. "Say," he added, "can't yees 
set me up in business? I'm a bit short to-day." 

"You seem to be so every time I meet you," I re- 
plied. 

"Och, I have money sometimes, but I'm badly on 
the rocks to-day." 

"Well, how much do you require?" I asked. 

"A penny, sir, will buy me matches enough to start 
with," he replied. On meeting him shortly after- 
ward, found him pushing his business briskly. A 
boy ran up, wearing a pair of corduroy trousers with 
material enough in them for two pairs. He was 
bare-footed, having an accumulation of mother earth 
on his hands and feet and a fair sprinkling on his face. 
He shouted, "Buy matches, sir?" 

"What use would I have for them?" I replied. 

"Och, to light yer pipe wid," was his reply. 

"I don't smoke." 

"Light the fire wid 'em, then." 

"I have no occasion to do that." 

"Take them, ony way." 

"No, I don't want them." 

"Thank yees for the change," he said, playfully. 

"Is water scarce at your house?" I inquired of him. 

"It is, sir." 



166 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

"It would be a great surprise if you came in touch 
with it," I said. 

"It would, sir; water and I had a fallin' out some- 
time ago," he replied. 

"Have you room in your pocket for this purse?" I 
asked as I was purchasing a paper. 

"I have, sir," he replied. Then gathering hold of 
each side of his immense trousers, said: "And I've 
rooms to let in the old pants, too, sir." 

I usually received the ready change from that boy. 

"Last edition! Full account of the war!" shouted 
a boy as he ran up to me one day on Royal avenue. 

"Where is the war?" I asked with seeming surprise. 

"In South Africa; didn't yees know it?" he replied 
as he scanned me closely. 

"What are they fighting about?" I inquired. 

"Sure, sir, their fightin' about the gold mines," he 
said, as he ran off down the street. That was the 
opinion of very many others of riper years. 

Another boy came on the top of the tram one day, 
shouting the war news. "Is Kruger dead?" I asked 
of him. 

"No, sir, he's not dead ; but, sure, it's time he was," 
he said, as he took up the cry again, "Last edition !" 

Two ragged, bare-footed urchins ran up to me and 
wanted to carry my luggage. "Now look at the size 
of me ; don't you think I am better able to carry it than 
you?" I said to them. 

They looked up into my face and said : "Yes, sir, 
yees are, but we wants to make some pennies." 

"Is your father and mother living?" 

"Yes, sir, but they both gets drunk and sends us out 
to beg, and if we goes home widout pinnies, sure they 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 167 

bate us. Sometimes whin we don't have money we 
sleeps in the boxes on the quays." They were very 
bright, little fellows and they had my sympathy. 

I thought, while walking along, conversing with 
them, that those with heavy bank accounts who are 
charitably disposed could not invest their surplus 
change better than by lifting such children from their 
evil surroundings and placing them under good in- 
fluences where they would receive an education and a 
Christian training. Many of them doubtless would 
grow up and prove a blessing to the world. 

"Carry your luggage?" said a red-haired, freckled- 
faced boy as I alighted from a tram one day. 

"Yes, you can," I said. "I am going to that build- 
ing just beyond." He gathered up my grip and was 
soon joined by another boy of the same stripe. They 
conversed in a low tone of voice and seemed to be 
concocting some plan to get the best of me. Upon 
reaching my destination, I gave the boy two pence, 
thinking it was a fair sum. He turned his decorated 
face up to me and said : "Yees said yees would give me 
three pence." 

"I did not mention the amount." 

"Yees did, and I'll be after takin' it back where I 
got it," he replied, as he took hold of my grip. 

"You will be taking yourself out of here with your 
two pence," I said. He and the other lad went out 
chuckling. 

Three boys attired in clothing having the appear- 
ance of being worn for several generations were per- 
forming gymnastics one day at the entrance of the, 
Y. M. C. A., much to the amusement of the patrons 
of the restaurant connected with that institution. As 



168 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

they stood on their heads their huge trousers left their 
soiled legs exposed, and as their ancient coats fell in 
graceful folds all about them, I joined in the laugh 
as I saw this comic picture. 

"Were your clothes made to order?" asked one of 
the spectators. 

A woman scrubbing the hall floor turned to him 
and said: "No, but they were made when the boys 
were in good health." One would think they had lost 
considerable flesh. 

One of the boys came up to me and said : "Say, take 
us out and get us some new trousers, will yees?" But 
getting these boys new trousers meant having them 
in the pawn shop as soon as their parents laid their 
hands on them, and the money would have soon been 
dropped in the till of the publican. The day I left 
Belfast, one of these street arabs came up to me and 
began a conversation. Finally, I said to him : "Son, 
I have no change for you to-day." 

I misunderstood the boy's motive in coming with 
me. "Oh, sir," he said, "it's not money I'm after. I 
just wanted to talk wid ye." He was a very intelli- 
gent boy and listened attentively as I gave him some 
good advice. A group of these boys saw me on the 
top of the tram as I was going to the railway station 
and, waving their hands, shouted: "Good-bye to 
yees." 

"Say, mister, put me in yer pocket and take me to 
Ameriky with yer," said a boy to me in a Sunday 
school class that I was attempting to teach : 

"Don't yer be doin' it ; he'll be botherin' ye for 
bread," another boy remarked. • 

"Och, I would rather be goin' out to shoot the 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 169 

Boers than goin' to Ameriky," said another bundle of 
mischief. It was as difficult to find the sober side 
of these Irish boys as it was a class of boys I taught in 
my own school in America, who had brought peanuts 
with them and insisted on eating them and throwing 
the shells on the floor. 

"Don't do that," I said. 

"Oh, here's my hat; put them in that," remarked a 
boy, as he placed his hat in the floor. The boys soon 
began pelting it with peanut shells. 

"Boys, where are you?" I asked. 

"In church," a boy replied, as he munched on his 
peanuts. 

"Well, how do you think you should behave in the 
house of God?" 

"Oh, better than we are behavin', I suppose," said 
one of them. 

Thinking to remind them of the great reverence 
shown by the Catholic children for their places of wor- 
ship and schools, I said to them : "You know how the 
little Catholic boys enter their church and schools." 

'Well, I don't know how they go in," said a boy, 
"but I know how they come out, for I saw a boy the 
other day coming out of the window with one of the 
sisters after him." 

The boys had me completely side-tracked, but I 
made another effort to gain the main track : 

"Boys," I said, "what does that word habit mean?" 

"It means doin' something you can't help," a boy 
replied, and then shifting his quid of peanuts said, "I 
have a habit of eatin' and can't help it." In spite of 
my effort to refrain, I joined with the boys in laugh- 
ing at this remark. 



170 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

Finally I said to them : "Boys, do you want to hear 
a story?" 

"Yes," they replied, "if you know anything about it 
yourself," and added : "We don't want to hear any- 
thing you have heard or read." 

I quickly sorted over my bundle of original 
stories and passed out one that struck the sober side 
of them. I resorted to the same method for this 
class of Irish boys and found it worked nicely. 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 171 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

SOME SAD AS WELL AS AMUSING SIGHTS. 

@URING my stay in Belfast, I saw many sad as 
well as amusing sights. It was a common 
thing to see women and children in the streets 
bare-footed, even in the mid-winter. As I saw wo- 
men with whitened locks and bent with age tramping 
along the streets shoeless and half clad, I wondered 
being so exposed how they managed to tarry so long 
in this old world. The most of them were in this 
condition because they preferred to patronize the pub- 
lic house instead of the merchant. 

One day while conversing with a policeman, an old 
woman came across the street, putting her bare feet 
down very gently on the rough cobbles, and made 
her way into one of the saloons. "That is a pitable 
sight," I said, in calling his attention to the old wo- 
man. 

"Oh, there are lots of those old creatures about the 
city," he replied. We find them quite often of a cold 
night lying on the door-steps, and send them to the 
almshouse." 

One day I met one of these old women on the 
streets. She said : "Have yees anything to give me?" 

"No, aunty," I replied. 

"Well, ye may have to-morrow if I meet yees," she 
said, shifting the little soiled bundle she carried un- 
der her arm. 

"Where do you live?" I inquired of her. 



172 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

"Och, sure," she replied, "sometimes in the poor- 
house and sometimes out." 

"Which do you prefer?" 

"Sure'n, I loike me liberty," she replied, and added : 
"Och, well, they give yees a good fire to set beside, 
but I don't loike their mate." 

"Well, poor meat is better than none," I remarked. 

"That's true, sir," she said, "but I loike me liberty 
better." 

A lady was telling me of her father. In passing an 
old woman begging on the street he put his .hand in 
his pocket as though he meant to give her something. 

"May good luck follow ye," she said, and when he 
failed to contribute, she shouted, "And niver over- 
take yees." 

Many of these old creatures, if you fail to respond, 
have a way of quickly untieing their blessing and 
hurling a curse at you. One day here in America an 
old woman hobbled into a store where I was and be- 
gan pouring her tale of woe in the ear of the clerks. 
Failing to arouse their sympathy, she turned to me 
and repeated the story. 

"If you are helpless and homeless, why don't you go 
to the almshouse?" I asked. 

She indignantly replied : "I don't have to go there, 
and I want yees to understand it." 

"You would be far better off there than going about 
in this way," I said. 

Forgetting her lameness, she hurried to the. door 
and on reaching it turned and clinched her fist and, 
shaking it vigorously at me, said : "May yees die hard 
and hungry," and profusely showered on me other 
curses. 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 173 

Another old, distressed looking woman came into 
the store one day, begging for money to give her hus- 
band a decent burial who, she said, was lying in the 
morgue, and in a few weeks afterward she came in 
again, evidently forgetting she had been there before 
on the same errand. 

"Would ye be kind enough to give me something 
to help give me husband a dacent burial?" she said. 

"Aunty, haven't you got the old man buried yet? 
He must be in a fine condition after being several 
weeks in the morgue," said one of the clerks. The 
old woman looked crestfallen and hurriedly left the 
store, leaving a long string of curses. 

In company with a friend, in passing along one of 
the principal thoroughfares of Belfast, we saw a man 
with a hand-cart and accompanied by a woman com- 
ing down the middle of the street. She evidently had 
not arranged her toilet for many days. She wore a 
very short dress which, for brevity, would have an- 
swered very nicely for a bicycle dress for some of our 
American women who evidently believe in extremes. 
She was putting her feet down very gingerly on the 
cobble stones which in color were the same. Just 
as we were passing them she said: "Let me in the 
cart." 

The man lowered the odd looking vehicle and she 
climbed in very gracefully, and he wheeled this old, 
soiled piece of humanity down the street much to the 
amusement of the passers-by. 

In company with this same friend I went to a 
wretched little home to cheer the heart of the occu- 
pant with one of the songs of Zion. She was a sister 
who had never become entangled in the matrimonial 



174 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

meshes and seemed well content in the company of 
her three cats. When I struck the chords of the harp* 
and lifted my voice in song, the trio immediately arose 
from their different napping places and, getting their 
spines curved and their tails far beyond their normal 
size, walked about the little room on the tips of their 
toes and glared at me wildly. She assured them I 
was a peacable character, but they still objected to 
the tall Yankee invading their quarters. In catching 
the eye of my friend I nearly lost my balance. 

"You seem to quickly see the funny side of life," 
said my friend, as we left this little home. 

"Yes," I replied ; "I would much rather not have it 
so, especially when on an errand of this kind." 

One evening near where I was stopping there was 
a woman of very respectable appearance very much 
under the influence of strong drink. She had fallen 
and received a bad wound on her forehead. 

"Assist me in taking this woman to her home," said 
the gentleman with me, who was ever ready to per- 
form the good Samaritan act. 

"Why not let the police attend to that?" I replied. 

"Come, lend a hand; we will not wait to call an 
officer: It is not far away, if the address she gives is 
correct." 

So I helped to steady her steps to her home. On 
reaching there her husband, who was an old man, 
said with a look of surprise: 

"Sure, she only left here a short time ago. How 
and where did she get in that condition?" 

The only answer we could give was we found her 
"bruised and mangled by her fall" and needing help. 
Shortly after we helped her into the little home she 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 175 

had a spasm from the effects of the whisky. The old 
man seemed so troubled we concluded to remain with 
him until she recovered. After regaining her con- 
sciousness she shouted: 

"Yees are both fine gintlemen to be bringin' me 
home, and I want yees to stay with us." We had no 
desire to prolong our stay. My friend being near the 
door, quickly stepped out, and when I attempted to 
do so she laid violent hands on me and shouted : "Yees 
can't go." 

"Let him go to his home," said the old man. She 
gave him a look and said : 

"Hauld yer tongue," and he meekly obeyed orders. 
Thinking to leave as quietly as possible, I began to 
reason with her, but like most of women, even those 
with clear heads, she insisted on having her own way. 
Finally I loosened her grasp and hurried to the street 
and found the good Samaritan nearly convulsed with 
laughter at the manner in which I left the little house. 

"When you get me again in a predicament like that, 
it will be when there are no policeman to handle the 
case," I said. My kindly disposed friend, I think, 
will have his "wayside" cases sent instead of taking 
them to the "Friendly Inn." 



176 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 



CHAPTER XXV. 

BELFAST DURING THE WAR IN SOUTH AFRICA- 

\ I / HERE was great excitement all through the 
<y I © city on the account of the war in South Africa, 
which had been in progress only a few weeks 
when I went back to Belfast. The people were in 
great suspense previous to the relief of Ladysmith. 
When the report came it had been relieved, their was 
a burst of enthusiastic joy that spread like wild fire 
all over the city. The English flags were quickly 
flung to the breeze and the shouts of the people could 
be heard in all directions. Hundreds of men and wo- 
men left their employment and paraded the streets, 
waving the Union Jack and singing "God save the 
Queen" and "Rule Brittainia." Far into the night 
could be heard the brass bands and fife and drum 
corps, mingled with the cheers of the immense crowds 
that thronged the streets and many of them continued 
to celebrate the event the following day. Standing at 
Castle Junction and Royal avenue, looking out on 
that surging mass of people who were giving expres- 
sion to their joyous feelings, I concluded that Queen 
Victoria had no more loyal subjects in all her wide 
domain. One rough looking fellow, however, stand- 
ing near me did not seem to be very patriotic. He 
turned to me and said : 

"They had better be sure the report is true before 
they make such a fuss as this." 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 177 

"Oh," I replied, "I don't think there is any doubt 
about it." 

"Och, sure, I don't care wither it's true or not; I'm 
more interested in a good drink of whisky or porter," 
he remarked. There was no reason for doubting 
him. 

"Strong drink," I said, "is one of man's greatest 
enemies, and the government would do well to make 
a raid on it." 

"Och, sure, there's no harm in taking a wee drap. 
I don't spind all me shillin's for it. I have enough 
left to take care of me old father and mother," he re- 
plied. 

"Well, looking after the old folks is very commend- 
able, and so is abstaining from a wee drap of the 
crater," I said. 

When the report came of the fall of Pretoria, there 
was another great demonstration. Bands of young 
men and women and boys and girls paraded the streets 
and made the old city ring with their merry shouts 
and songs. From the mansion to the smallest home 
could be seen the emblems of rejoicing. In the eve- 
ning I sailed for Glasgow and just before the steamer 
left, there was a crowd of young women evidently 
from the slums came down along the quays waving 
the Union Jack and singing, "Rule Brittania." They 
were celebrating the event in a very boisterous man- 
ner. One of them mounted a large box and began 
singing and dancing. The others gathered around 
and shook their bare feet briskly, until a huge police- 
man appeared on the scene and dispersed the crowd. 

There is a large barracks in the city and in the eve- 
nings the red coats are quite conspicuous on the 



12 



178 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

streets. Many of Ireland's loyal lads offered their 
services to the good old Queen. The Imperial Yeo- 
manry, composed of some of the finest lads that ever 
grew on the Green Isle, donned their Kahki suits and 
sailed away to South Africa. There are many sad 
homes in Ireland, for many of those lads either fell 
from the deadly bullet or were stricken by disease, 
and their bones are hidden away beneath Africa's 
sands. 

The father and mother of one of the officers of the 
Imperial Yeomanry were so distressed about their son 
leaving, they invited a company of friends to their 
splendid home for a season of prayer for the safe re- 
turn of their boy. While sitting in that home that 
evening I was greatly impressed with the wonderful 
faith in the efficacy of prayer of that father and 
mother and their sympathizing friends. When the 
militia left for South Africa, there was an immense 
crowd of people to see them off at the Great Northern 
station, where some very sad scenes were witnessed. 
An old woman, jostled by the crowd, followed hard 
after a young man and on reaching the gates she bade 
him an affectionate farewell, then made her way out 
through the crowd, weeping bitterly. As she was 
passing me, I said to her : 

"Is that your son leaving for the seat of war?" 

"Oh, yes, it's my only boy," she replied, "and I'll 
never see him again." She went down the street 
sobbing and saying, "Oh, me poor boy ; me poor boy." 

As I saw those men tearing themselves away from 
home and friends, I said : "War is a cruel thing and 
should be a thing unheard of in this twentieth cen- 
tury." 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 179 

A woman standing near me with a shawl over her 
head and a hard looking face peeping from under it, 
said to another woman as one of the officers was pass- 
ing : "Look at that wid a sword. Sure, he'll have lit- 
tle use for it. He'll be wid his back to the Boers most 
of the time on the run," and added : "If he'd known 
the war was comin', he'd niver joined the militia." 

"Och, sure," said the other woman, "and there's a 
lot goin' jist like him." 



i8o A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

SOME WITTY SAYINGS HEARD IN IRELAND. 

0NE day I had occasion to go to the custom house 
in Belfast and while there inquired of some of 
the clerks whether a small article I wished to 
send to America was dutiable. "I'm not quite sure, 
sir, but I think it is," was his reply. 

"I am an American," I said, "but I think it is an 
abominable system to put a duty on such a trifle." 
Another clerk put his head out of the office door and 
said: 

"We are not allowed to abuse the customs of other 
countries during - office hours, but come around about 
4 o'clock, sir. We'll all join in with you." 

"Did you ever hear how Paddy silenced the infi- 
del?" said a man to me one day in Dublin. 

"No," I replied. 

"Well, the infidel was making sport of the Bible in 
one of his meetings and causing great laughter. 'You 
take that pig story,' he said. 'Why, it was three miles 
from where those pigs were to the sea, and who ever 
heard of a pig running that far?' " 

. "Hauld yerself steady," said Paddy; "I bought a 
wee pig at the market the other day and whin I was 
gittin' it out of the cart, sure it got away from me and 
rin eight miles before I caught it, and I wants to know 
if a pig could run eight miles without the devil in it, 
how far could one run wid a legion?" 

One of my Irish friends who seemed to have a large 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 181 

fund of amusing stories, told me of an Englishman 
who visited Ireland and gave his trunk in charge of 
one of the van guards. At several of the stations he 
shouted at the guard to know if his trunk was all right. 
"Yer trunk is all right," said the guard. "Is me 
trunk all right," again shouted the Englishman. "It 
is, sor, and if yees had been born an elephant instead 
of an ass, yees could have carried yer trunk wid yees," 
said Paddy. 

A gentleman whose home I frequently visited while 
in Belfast, told a story in a very amusing way of an old 
minister he knew. Some of the people were napping 
during the sermon, and the old minister remarked : 

"Well, get all the sleep you can, for you will get 
none in the warm region where you're going." 

This same old minister lost his wife and, like very 
many on this side of the Atlantic, on coming from the 
cemetery brushed away his tears and quickly started 
out in pursuit of another, and without any difficulty 
succeeded in getting one. Some of his ministerial 
brethren reproved him for so quickly removing the 
crepe from his tall hat. 

"Why, brethen," he said, "she is happy up there in 
heaven. There's no need of me being miserable down 
here." 

Several years ago a young man sitting beside me at 
the table of a large boarding house, said to the Irish 
waitress : "Come here, Mary, while I kiss you." 

"It's fond of veal yees must think I am to be kissin' 
a calf," was her quick reply. All present except the 
crimson-faced young man joined in laughing at her 
Irish wit. 

In coming to a railroad crossing in company with a 



i&2 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

friend one day, I said to the witty old Irish gateman : 
"Michael, put this fellow on the end of the gate and 
toss him up in the air." 

"It's to near heaven, sir, and he doesn't belong up 
that way," was the amusing answer he gave. 

An Irish woman, on seeing an emaciated pair of 
chickens hanging at a store door on a Thanksgiving 
day, said as she came in: "Take them chickens in. 
They're not the kind to be hangin' at the door a day 
like this. I'd like to know what mon could ask the 
blessing over such chickens as those." 

One day I met an old man on the street begging for 
something to eat. I began to talk to him of the bet- 
ter life. He dropped his head and listened and I 
thought I was pouring lots of comfort in his ears. 
When I had finished he looked up and said, with his 
rich brogue : 

"Sure'n and a mon can't think much about that wid 
a hungry stomach. Why, it's all fast to the back of 
me now wid the hunger." 

A short time afterward I met him in the office of one 
of my friends. 

"Good mornin'," he said to me as he came in. 

"Why, do you know him, Jimmy?" said my friend. 

"I do, sir, and he always greets me wid a smile." 

"Well, he also smiles on the ladies," said my friend. 

"It's a weakness of the human family, and it didn't 
pass by you," said Jimmy. 

My wise friend admitted that Jimmy was on the 
lead. 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 183 



CHAPTER XXVII. 

SOME INCIDENTS IN MISSION WORK. 

0NE day, in company with one of the city mis- 
sionaries, I went into the home of a very quaint 
old lady. When he introduced me, she said : 
"Sit ye down, if ye don't stay but a week." 

Then turning to the missionary, who was a very 
small man, said : "Mr. B — is a wee mon, but a good 
one." 

Then looking up into my face, which was some dis- 
tance from the little old woman, she said : "But you 
took to growin' quickly and staid at it a long time."' 
In the course of our conversation she remarked : "I'm 
patiently waitin' for the Boatman to come and take me 
over home," and in a few days after our visit the Boat- 
man came and conveyed her across death's silent river. 

"Aunty," said a missionary in another section of the 
city, "we are going to hold a meeting at No. 56 on 
this same street. Will you come over?" 

"Well," she replied, "I don't have to go out to 
meet the Lord. Sure, I have Him in me home." 

"This gentleman has a harp, and is to play and 
sing," he further remarked. 

"Well, I have no need to go and hear the gentle- 
man's music, for God put a melody down in me soul 
many years ago, and I have it there yet," was her 
answer. But she was at the meeting and her old, 
motherly face was an inspiration. 

We went to another home and knocked at the door. 



184 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

"Come in," said a woman. When we entered this 
wretched home there sat two women huddled about a 
few dying embers in the grate. The younger one 
held a small babe in her lap. The only article of 
clothing worn was a remnant of a little dress. We in- 
vited them to the meeting, but they preferred to re- 
main in their wretchedness. He succeeded in gath- 
ering quite a congregation in the little house. The 
children gathered around the door and when we sang 
the hymn, "When the roll is called up yonder," they 
took up the chorus and sang it lustily. In company 
with one of the workers I called at an open door and 
inquired of the little, old woman whether we could 
come in and give her a hymn with a few chords on the 
harp. "No, yees can't come in," she replied. "If I 
want to hear that thing, I can come over to the hall." 

"Well, will you come over?" I inquired. 

"If I can get a shawl, but they're mighty scarce 
about this house." 

"Oh, come without one." 

"Indade and I'll not. If I can get me dather's, I'll 
come," she said as she stepped to the door. 

"You know, aunty, that moving day is coming, and 
it is uncertain just when, and it is unwise to put off 
securing good quarters," I remarked. 

"Och, sure, we're all goin' out on the same road," 
she said, and, with a merry twinkle in her eye, added : 
"I suppose I ought to come over and get me sowl 
fixed up in some kind of shape." She evidently was 
not much concerned about her "sowl." 

"Come in," said a woman as we knocked at a door 
nearby. When we made our errand known she said : 
"I'm getting meself ready to go to England this eve- 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 185 

ning, but sure I'll listen to one piece on yer harp." 

"When we had finished the song, she said: "How 
do you sell yer harps?" 

"I'm not selling them," I replied. 

"Och, sure, I thought you were." 

"No, we are visiting the homes in this vicinity try- 
ing to induce the people to get ready to take a far 
more important journey than going to England or 
any other country," I remarked. 

She soon gave us to understand that she needed the 
room we were occupying in the little house to com- 
plete her preparations for the journey in which she 
was the most interested, and we vacated. 

"Come in," said a faint voice as we knocked at the 
door of another one of the many wretched homes in 
that section. As we entered this little, cheerless 
home, there, sitting on a stool at a table, sat a poor 
emaciated looking woman partaking of her scant mor- 
sel of bread and tea. When we invited her to the 
meetings being held in the large hall nearby, she said : 

"I attend the meetings there; I'm too poor to go 
into any of the churches. I've had a hard time since 
me husband died, but I have had the Lord with me 
for more than twenty-five years. I was converted in 
one of Mr. Moody's meetings here in Belfast." We 
found a real saint hidden away in this little hovel. 

At one of the meetings held in this large hall a 
young lady came to me and said : "There is a man who 
says he has been to America and wishes to see you." 

I found that he had not only been to America, but 
also to the public house and tarried there sometime. 

"Say, Butler, I've been over to your country. I've 
been out as far as California." 



186 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

"That is a long distance from Philadelphia," I re- 
plied. 

"Well, say, I want you to sing for me." 

"Oh, you come around to-morrow night," I re- 
plied. 

"I may be in H . . by that time," he said. 

Thinking there was a possibility of the young men 
setting sail for that port, I consented to sing a few 
verses of the piece he requested. 

"Butler, that's not all of that hymn. I want you 
to finish it." 

To satisfy him, I had to sing the entire seven verses. 
He came to the meetings quite frequently, but was al- 
ways in a sober condition. He was a very bright, in- 
telligent fellow. 

"Say, I can play that banjo as well as yees ; and yer 
needn't think yees can come over here and learn us 
anything," said a hard looking character, rather the 
worse for drink, in one of the meetings. 

"Well, I can tell you where you can get something 
better to drink than you are now getting. It is from 
the old well of salvation," I replied. 

He looked up into my face with an expression 
which strong drink alone can give, and said : "Do yees 
know anything about it yerself?" 

"Oh, I hope so." 

"I don't want yees to be hoping anything about it. 
I want to know if yees are all right yerself. There's 
so many of these imposters goin' about," he said, 
clinching his fist and putting it in close proximity to 
my eye. My wisest plan, I thought, was to quickly 
give a decided answer and thus avoid a scene. After 
giving him the answer he said : 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 187 

"Yees need not spend yer time in talkin' to me, for 
I know me duty and if I don't do it, will be beaten 
wid many stripes." 

One evening after the service he was wagging his 
tongue quite freely, which was set in motion by his 
usual dram, and one of the mission workers said to 
him, "Do go home." 

"Go home? Why, heaven's me home, and sure 
yees wonuld'nt want me to go wid these clothes," he 
replied, calling her attention to his dilapidated cloth- 
ing. 

"Look at this suit of clothing I'm wearing now," 
said a man in conversation with me at one of the mis- 
sion halls. "Two years ago I was in rags and the pub- 
lican got all me money. One night one of the young 
men of this mission came to me house and talked to 
me of the better life, but I had laid in some porter that 
I was more interested in than the man's talk. When 
I saw that man bow and heard his voice in prayer, and 
at the same time quieted me child by jogging the old 
basket in which it lay, his kindness broke me heart, 
and at once called on God for mercy and He made 
me a sober man, and now I'm takin' care of me family. 
I used to have to carry me wares about ; now, sure, I 
have a donkey and cart." 

One day in company with some friends I went in 
to see the man's donkey, which he kept in a little shed 
in the yard. 

"How do you get him out to the street?" I inquired. 

"Och, sure, I take him through the house and out 
the front door," was his answer. 

It amused me as I thought of Billy, the donkey, 



188 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

making his daily trips through the little house to the 
street. 

"Why, even the old cat knows I am converted," 
said a man at one of the meetings, "for when I was 
drinking I used to kick her out of doors. Now she 
purrs beside me and feels perfectly safe ; and me little 
girl run from me and hid herself when she saw me 
comin' home drunk, but now she runs with her arms 
out to meet me." 

This man had been one of the worst drunkards in 
Belfast, but through the efforts of the mission workers 
he was led to the better life. He was a very earnest 
worker in the missions and William John exerted a 
wonderful influence for good, especially over his old 
associates. One day in company with Rev. William 
M — and a number of his workers, I visited one of the 
slum districts and assisted in the open air meetings 
held at various points. There was a young girl with 
decidely red hair and bare-footed and shabbily dressed 
came out of a house with a dog. She did her best to 
persuade the animal to take hold of us, but he, seeing 
the huge piece of leather I was about to lift with which 
to keep him from testing the strength of my trousers, 
suddenly halted and refused to obey the command of 
his vicious mistress. Most of the motley crowd that 
gathered about us were quite attentive. There was 
one great, stalwart woman who came out of a house 
and made an effort to disturb the meeting, but Rev. 
Maguire turned the gospel gun on her and she quickly 
fled. She had been in this old world lo, these many 
years, but had tried to conceal the finger marks of 
Father Time by a great quantity of paint and powder, 
and an application of hair dye. We styled her 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 189 

"sweet sixteen." We were requested one day to call 
and see a number of sick persons. The first house we 
visited was that of a man who was very ill with con- 
sumption. He and his wife had been saved from lives 
of wretchedness and sin in one of the missions in that 
vicinity. Seeing his very weak condition, I said to 
him : "Do you think you can stand a little singing to- 
day?" His wife did not give him time to answer, but 
said: "Of course he can stand it. If he's goin' to 
heaven he's got to stand it, for they have plenty of it 
up there and he might as well get used to it down 
here." 

As we were leaving, he said there was a man sick 
next door and requested us to visit him. We went 
into the little room and found a man in a dying condi- 
tion. I asked him the same question as I did the 
other man. He loked up into my face and said : 

"A mon in the jaws of death can stand nothin' like 
that ; I'm going to heaven where they have plenty of 
music. I'll wait till I get there." 

We went into another home where lay a woman dy- 
ing with consumption. When we inquired as to how 
she was feeling, she said : 

"Och, I am so tired of waiting for my boatman I 
wish he would come and take me home. Sure, the 
only one I dread leaving is my good husband. He 
is very kind ; he gets me all he can for my comfort." 

As we looked around the poverty stricken home 
we concluded his means must be very limited. 

Seeing an old woman sitting by a window sewing, 
I said to the young man with me : "We will go in and 
with a song cheer the heart of that old creature. Our 
knock was answered by a young woman who recog- 



ipo A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

nized us and gladly welcomed us to this wretched 
home. An old man sat by the open grate and we 
asked if he was a Christian. The old woman, not giv- 
ing him time to answer, said : 

"Sure, sometimes he is and sometimes he's not. 
He's pretty short at times." The old man gave her a 
look that led us to believe it was true. 

"Why, God surely sent you here, for no one ever 
comes to see me," said an old woman who answered 
our knock at another little home. "Come in and take 
seats," she said. She gave us a brief history of her 
Christian life, in which, she informed us, it was 
through a Salvation Army lass that she was led to the 
better life. 

"I am living alone in this home, but have the pres- 
ence of Jesus and have had for eighteen years. I shall 
leave this old house soon for the mansion prepared 
for me," she said. 

We left that home well assured that happiness did 
not consist in having a heavy bank account, but in 
having a clear title to a home that shall never decay. 

"Is that the new curate?" shouted a drunken wo- 
man one evening in a mission hall as she saw me on 
the platform. Then standing up and waving her 
hand, shouted: "I want to meet the new curate." 
Some of the workers tried to quiet her but she insisted 
on having an introduction to me. 

"You just wait until I am through talking to these 
children," I said. "Then I will meet you." But she 
insisted on meeting the new curate at once and had 
the right of way for sometime until they convinced her 
I was not the new curate. 

One of the prominent mission workers informed 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 191 

me that one day in company with another worker he 
went to a home where both the husband and wife 
drank. They found them both lying on the floor 
drunk and the little ones very much neglected. 
There being no food in the house they procured some 
and were preparing it for the children. The woman 
raised up and leaning on her elbow, shouted to her 
husband : 

"Mike, the angels are hoverin' around." When the 
hungry little ones sat down and partook of the meal 
prepared by these Christian men, they must have con- 
cluded that the angels had done more than hover 
around. These men are members of a Christian band 
composed of business and professional men who are 
actively engaged in Christian work. One of them is 
a lawyer and opens his office every Tuesday night for 
a prayer service. One of them gave me a number of 
a house and requested me to call and see a dying man. 
When we entered that little home, there were three 
women sitting beside a young man who was throwing 
his hands wildly and talking incoherently. We 
thought at once he was the sick man. I walked over 
to the lounge and asked very gravely: "How long 
he had been sick." 

"This is not the sick man. He's just come in to lie 
down. The sick man is in yon room." This fellow 
was celebrating Easter and was badly out of repairs. 
In this little room to which we were directed lay a man 
on an apology for a bed. There was an old coat 
thrown over his shoulders and he was breathing an 
atmosphere that was a great tax on our healthy 
breathing apparatus. The penny dip in the little, old 
fashioned candle stick was nearly burned out, which 



192 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

seemed to be a very striking figure of the flickering 
life of the poor old man. We found the man quite 
willing and ready to quit his wretched home for the 
better one. We sang a hymn which seemed to cheer 
his old heart. Just before we finished, the young man 
lying on the lounge joined in the chorus, but his 
ragged and discordant notes side-tracked us. On 
leaving this wretched home, was glad to again breathe 
a purer atmosphere. 

At one of the meetings we formed the acquaintance 
of a very excellent young man and his wife. They 
were both earnest Christians and rendered valuable 
service in the meetings. They invited us to their 
home and we found them real, typical, warm-hearted 
Irish people. One day I learned that she had passed 
to the great beyond. I hastened to their home and 
found the emblem of mourning on their store door, 
and friends gathering at the house to pay their re- 
spects to the dead girl. When I entered the room, 
her father burst into a flood of tears and said : "I want 
you to sing, 'My Jesus, I love thee.' That is the last 
piece she sang. With her latest breath she sang this 
verse : 

'And say when the death dew lies cold 

on my 'brow, 
If ever I love Thee, my Jesus 'tis now. : " 

There by that open coffin containing the form of 
that young woman who had just passed her 21st year, 
I sang the hymn requested amid the sobs of that young 
husband, father and mother and other members of the 
family. At the conclusion of the service they carried 
the coffin down stairs and placed it on two chairs just 
outside of the door. In a short time afterward the 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 193 

husband and father and two brothers came down and 
placing the coffin on their shoulders, carried it for sev- 
eral squares back of the hearse, which is considered a 
great mark of respect. They were followed by the 
male members and friends of the family. The female 
members of the family seldom follow the remains to 
the grave. Frequently I have seen the funeral pro- 
cession passing along the street, followed by a num- 
ber of empty cariages. Most of the friends walk the 
entire distance to the cemetery. It all seemed very 
strange to me, being so entirely different from our 
custom in America. 

One day, in company with one of the workers, we 
visited a man who was very ill, but who had retained 
his large vein of wit and humor. 

^"Does Dr. R — still attend you?" asked the gentle- 
man with me. 

"He does," he said, gasping for breath, "but, sure, 
he gives me nothin' but cough syrup, sir. Why, 
sure, I think he'd give me cough medicine for a broken 
leg." 

He was a comparatively young man and had been 
a very earnest worker in open air meetings. The dif- 
ferent demoninations hold their open air services in 
different parts of the city. In the evening your ears 
are greeted by the gospel hymns on the different street 
corners. Usually the audience gathered about these 
bands of Christian workers are very attentive listeners. 
Rev. W. M — , whom I became acquainted with, was 
one of the most earnest Christian ministers I ever met. 
He was a very fearless man and stood up in the open 
air meetings and denounced every form of sin. He 
invited me to sing "He saves a poor sinner like me" 

13 



194 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

i>m; nwob oiUGD aidrfioid owi btt£ ■ndip.'t bar, brmcfaur] 

^m^WMm'^m^M^m^o «&bi stefpftf 

^ftWf9n*T .ylim^l aril }q zbiwhl bru tarn atom 

irj(A?rf?fii sa Mo t teiW 1 #fflr$ the pastor and hea,rd liis 
command, he immediately took his seat. /but in a jew 
-MW&J?-far s W# d M ^^ ,.^ , stop singing that piece. 

few minutes and. like hi,s father, is a fearless fellow and 
' .TOTrjrni orris jiw u> rnpv a^nEi etrl 
^r^gh^enejd o^t the^o^ster^u^^adj so that we^ were 

not interrupted again "during the service, but at the 

^e^e.m^.st^rte^ im^ aisle anflsaid'lij;' wap.go- 

ing/^o s^tle W-jijb me ; , ( ^ut ,tjie pastor's son took him 

m^£^t^^^^i9ti%&^k[ The heav y 

draught of whisky which he took in previous to ■com- 
ing ito church was responsible for his conduct. When 
this good man. took up the work in this old church, 
built in.181.7, there was only a small congregation, but 
through 111s, -efforts and, his earnest band of workers, 




day evenings. Ihe home of this minister was one of 

.'-.\ , ri\'>\r-TTiiy\w>\\). 7 T.OV 0711 : i '».Ti •■ I l/JJlU 

those in which I found a warm welcome and shall' al- 
<v.u .nu ii r>o1rffnrjinn j>rrLjnon f rrt<TrF>/ ,, it . // /,vT 
ways remember the kindness shown me by him and his 

good wife and entire, family. , 

iR'jo 9ff] rtl fj.il boofa I'lii: itf.m . 4 -.'/l.)i;'>i i']-)i i; ,-,•,// -,11, 

, ( At a meeting in one of the missions connected with 
jII .nV n. in p)f v j-w> r.'>->injo!i'W) Lin; - -m ir>;n ,in. 
one of the Methodist churches, a very fine looking 
o?rr -yin lopnvi toon nibvr.j' orL y/rfe-YH orri tojiyiLP 
man came in very much under the influence of drink. 



A 1 %AMEE BACH E'LOR 1 ABROAD. *& 

One of the workers spoke to him about the better life. 

"Sir," he said, "I know the way. I once stood in 
the pulpit and preached the gospel, but allowed drink 
to get the best of me/' He was very anxious to find 
his way back t© the homeward path and I learned 
shortly afterward through the efforts of some earnest 
; Christian 1 wOrk^rshe 1 ' had' again come back to ihe MM. 
As I ! s f aw' tftdt fifte' looking; ' irite'lKgent fria'n ■ whol|iaJi 
titled occupied ' ^he 1 ' exalted position ! <yf preaching the 
gds i pel : , 'I thought ■':! Is 1 it 'possible thai the ' olack 'hand 
of intemperance 1 ' can 1 ^ea'dh 1 >§6 -liig^H 5 sirid' drag 1 a ! ■ man 
doWn'?' 'And'yetit is i trU ! ei' M ' 111 ' i'>ill<mr,Hi yioiIT" 
\ >3 §W many incident^ fhat'harjpened in my feeble' ef- 
forts to assist in mission work 'in Belfast and other 
places will never' be effa'ceid from ' my 'memory i ! ' There 
ate rriariy' Others that I would like to pass ouf to the 
reader, some of which are very amusing arid others 
that! stride 'ofi 1 the 1 'pathetic side, but space will' not 
£ermitmet6gi^etkemi : ' ■ - ■ brrohl hoo- 

'.mni li is // /iir.i j 

■ii»i: br,l ! ill . '<i!i '.i'i .<i I y/1'K) i! I" 

->ll)il /in rili n r \)\i\?. I 

■ '■ n ■ ■ .■ i ■ i; (I b*>n m) Itrfi in it ■, • 

_ 1 1 ■ v ; 4 f J / ,'n , n // 

■.,..:-. i in fiii// Irrmi I rr.i Jin. i i -,ii : ni r J *.> 1 1 1 o //'I 

[ )||| tl .■'■.'■." ' '■■■' < ; i ' »! I-'!. lloH 

-' l.i ' I HI I : ' < : / li. n mill..' i 

,m.iih •• ./ :')l\) : liiii.ii i i. ;■!. // ■)!.'! 11 

.!'...;:. [)f If >Vi ■■■III I Id f I'M Hf1 'ill / ?,iU\ lot) /I III'* I l.i |. | !. 
">llj f»l iinl il!i // f)Mil.-n ,/ in,| 

/ r\v>\\ ■■',■> H { '<i!.' lilnn ■!.■',!) nl r, n 

•Jill i'i r./n IJI'mII I),.-, i. i| fl')lll ..!!••<' i. ,!ip }() - > I f > r i [ 1 1 1 
11' iltl. ■: I -J /Mi r, li, hi.>ll!l mIJ tld r>>l«)l(t >■ - > 1 1 ' 1 ,11'MM 



iq6 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 

SOME PERSONS I MET IN TRAVELING. 

O-NE day in going from Belfast to Lisburn, two 
young men engaged in conversation with me. 
One of them in speaking of the section of the 
country through which we were passing, said : "That 
is what is called the broad road to Belfast." 

"There is another broad road," I said, "in which I 
trust you young men are not walking." They smiled, 
and one of them said : 

"I think, sir, we have taken that road." 

"Take my advice and turn your feet toward the 
safe path," I remarked. 

"Och, sure," he said, "the devil and I have been 
good friends so long, I should not like to part com- 
pany with him." 

"I have never been sorry I bade the old lad adieu," 
I said. They seemed greatly amused with my little 
sermonette and turned such a heavy stream of Irish 
wit on me that I was completely deluged. 

Two men in the compartment with me going from 
Belfast to Dublin engaged in conversation about the 
Balmoral Agricultural Fair which had closed that day. 
Sitting opposite to me was a plainly dressed woman, 
apparently not possessing much of this world's goods, 
but well furnished with tongue. She listened to the 
conversation a little while until she prepared a heavy 
bundle of questions, then passed them over to the 
men. They broke off the thread of conversation 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 197 

with each other and were kept busy passing the an- 
swers back to the woman. One of her questions was, 
how would she manage to get her cattle into the fair 
the next year? They gave her the information. 
Then she wanted to know the price of stock. Her 
husband, who sat next to me, scowled at her, but she 
talked on through his reproving looks. At Lisburn 
these men left the car for a few minutes. As they did 
so, she said to her husband : 

"Those men have been givin' me some tips about 
me cattle." He loked at her indignantly and said : 

"What's those men care about givin' you tips any 
more than this mon, who is a horse dealer, cares about 
givin' yer tips on his horses," referring to me. I 
smiled at the old man taking me for a horse jockey. 
He added : "Just hauld yer tongue ; yees have too 
much to say." Just then the two men returned and 
she shortly afterward opened fire on them again. 

One of them said, in the course of conversation, "I 
have never been to Dublin." 

"Shame on yer, and yees a business mon," she re- 
marked. 

"Och, well," he said, "I have started for there sev- 
eral times, but always got drunk before reaching 
there." We all thought a few drops more would have 
unfit the woman for her journey. 

An old man sitting in front of the man, said : 

"I have never been to Ireland before." 

"You're from England, I think," said the man. 

"Yea; I am from Manchester, but I am Scotch by 
birth." 

"I niver saw a man that had a drop of Scotch blood 



Hfefcjffl b^t what boasted _p£# v „ $Jgfl, eyen^Jfl^urns 

. :; "M\x. Burns is nqt,,(Jea ; cl ; ; fre lives, on the same street 

iall H ^Wf£ |9HS«&5 d^%FJ#JHtw% nlrW* 

. spea^p'.,qf ; ^ptppy, £i}rns, the po.e):,' , ) ,,, ( ,,„;,.., ; 

niJ fy jthqught ^mean* , m\ $$ii firP&nl TO i r MP%4- 

"That fellow has tongue. enough for a regiment. I 

could be travelin' from Belfast, to Dublin and not be 
ff/oifi; aqij *jui')> am„ttiu.ri3 aaau ,3 v. a h;m/i moji I , , 
spaken ,to a person.' I concluded, that the man had 

.flTHKi |)fIK ,n tfUiil ' r : : ; ilt 'i-'ji ]j; |i'J>r<Ji :> i L 'JuJT.a aLTI 

little opportunity for saying rery much at home, by 
the Way 'his ^'use'a'rief 4dnper j; ^neh i! thef left 
'tne'traiti'a'n 'dld'rnari'canfe 'ttttfWtfMi&rMekmid, 
'ashe^idso^saiH'r ''""^ " l! <">*!«' ™< ' 

"Gintlehien, don't l be'aistU j rb i iri , Vo^rs^ive , sl 1, rcan 
get a'&jat*' '< N^on^hM 7 rn'atf'e' 1 the ! slightest 1, m6ve. 
'On^mne'pisengeV^ ,>] llmm 

"H8^¥i^ : ^u , cUrifea [ veWe , stM?6h^ ; v!ht>!U ' jd * 
1 ''It was there before' 4 ! 'kheW^riythiri'g >afc&4t 3 it< and 
it will be there long after 1 I*li '^otle.^ Kf I> ' ,!i ' )V)::! 
- • n ''It's' k' fine day/? th» imao further remarked); d2" 

"It would b« if it was snowin','' the old mari replied. 
He looiked asf though he! was? 'quite' 'pieparefcL < lo'r a 
stoirm of -thatt>kindi:.'-!lt was im July, but herworie an 
>ove!rb<bat /which; fromi its ; appearand, 1 >waA' purchased 
when he was a young man. >; He evidently was! a bkch- 
elor, foivonei side of the told;, light colored icoat hef had 
utilized for a> pih vCusJ^ian.i! oJ na ;ri I" 

"If-yeesi feel inclined 'to; go^ tjO gT$5/n kp&%$ii "ye- can' 

zhaye j y er. chqic^ , , ;Yojij .can, (fj^e-f, g»\ tf. South. Africa 

or China." He rode some distance with us anqj kejpt 

J> ys ) ^n 1 a J c>^Mrfr^e ! qf ;i m^ ^y,.^s funny Remarks. 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 199 

. a A O 9\ I i A H< ) J 2 1 1 1 : ) A ! 1 3 71 X VL A Y A oos 

At one of 
compartment ; 
she began a conversation with, some o^f ik'e passeng- 




-My home il'inWuMnl rWal/eW to on ; e J: q£ j tite 
towns in the North to look after sorne business. _s$Iy 
^^'Iil8#r iie f c( y J nietirne^g> Wmfei^Jl 
amount and her sons were about crYeSting rrie 1 <M't 61 

it. But i got th^mwrnkf^^v ihi y* 

I had no reason to doubt, ii'fo^f thin€ J tie:impres- 



sion of those in the compartment was that' she was. 

mfmmW§kMwmMm A " UHK * m ****"*& 

me a list of interesting placets to visi^'in* DuDlm. J^ne 
df'thern wWaWyWgl MWery^' Ji ^e v ^u¥e.ah(i sarn- 

jus Issjor 




.(4re°ctf 4e "li^ettlh^iiiii. 
"Where does this train stop?" I inquired ; of ' J a'Mvjrig 

i0 ^aft^'is'tll^^sFst^'^ 11 • IooliDa b ° *"" 

tance, I shall be rather unco I mfBPtarjie r 'be tore reaching 
there." Iiy.prQYeditoJDeaquiteia/ioTig^jx^urney and on 




turned t^'th^^drkp^^nH^tlbttf^iatAe femisned'cont 
'di'ti6n /CK ' 1 ' i00 ^ 00 S ^ r,yf * 8 ^ S^nl <' [t ^ odfiioc ar it 

-^Well,T? fatfed fe fc^M9{,^afl8 as r t^oi 
-n srn ni vnabnsbnoJ 1o.20dibM aril vcf d9JD919 jrgirf 



200 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

my seat ; "and now it will be another long run before 
reaching Crew." 

An Irish fellow sitting opposite, reached up to the 
rack and took a flask of brandy from his traveling bag, 
and said: "Take a drink of brandy.; it will help you 
out." 

"Thank, you," I replied, "I think I can manage un- 
til we reach Crew." 

"Oh, you're a tetotaller, are you?" 

"Well, yes," I replied. 

"Well, I was too until I was twenty-five years old. 
Then I was in poor health and the doctor ordered me 
brown stout, and when I go on a long journey I usu- 
ally take a little brandy." 

"I was very delicate when I was that age," I said, 
"but I did not take brown stout, and you see how 
stout I am." 

He smiled as he tipped the flask and took a heavy 
draught, and said when he had finished : "A wee bit 
does you good." 

We were all convinced before reaching Holy Head 
that the physician who prescribed for him was decid- 
edly "old school." He had emptied the contents of 
his bottle and it had disarranged his thinking faculties 
and made him a bit queer. 

SOME TOWNS I VISITED IN IRELAND. 

Newtonards. — This town is in County Down at the 
head of Strangford Lough, and is about ten miles 
from, Belfast. It has a population of 10,000. Near 
it is Scrabo Hill, lifting its head 500 feet above the 
Lough. On the top of this hill is a tower 100 feet 
high, erected by the Marcus of Londenderry in mem- 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 201 

ory of his ancestors. In company with two friends I 
climbed the summit of the hill and had a grand view 
of the beautiful scenery stretching out as far as the 
eye could reach. Off in one direction were the 
Mourne Moutains. On the other side was the 
Lough finding its way out to the Irish sea, across 
which, of a clear day, can be seen the faint outlines of 
Scotland. 

On one of the streets there was an old stone cross 
that attracted my attention. It was ereced in 1632 
by the Montgomery family. Near it was the ruins of 
an old church which was completely covered with ivy. 
This town is well supplied with churches. There are 
seven Presbyterian, two Methodist and Plymouth 
Brethen, and one Catholic. This town was once 
noted for its hand-looms and there are still some few 
in operation. One day, in company with a gentle- 
man from Kansas City, in passing one of the small 
houses, we heard the sound of one of these looms. I 
suggested to him that we stop and ask permission to 
go in and see the weaving. 

"Can we come in and watch the process?" I in- 
quired of the good, motherly old woman. 

"In welcome, sir," she replied. 

In passing through the neat little room, on the 
walls of which were mottoes and scripture texts, and 
which we concluded before leaving, not only hung on 
the wall but were written on the tablets of the heart 
of the old man and woman. The old man spoke to us 
very pleasantly and went on with^his weaving. We 
talked of the wonderful improvement in machinery, 
and especially in America. 

"Are you gentlemen from that country?" he in- 



202 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

.ciAOHaA HOJaHOAa M'rxz/.v /. 

quired. , When .we informed him we were, he, imme- 

diately left his t wqrkand came over, to us and said : -. 

We have a boy in, America. He, has been ovei 

there' about' ten years'. * "Then* turning 'about to his 

wife, said: Mother, get Johns picture and show it 

to these gentlemen, iney may know mm. 

. There s his photo, said the- mother: and a gopd 

lad he is. He Tias never missed a -month sending us Si 

bit of money since he left this old home." 

His face was proof he was one of those r>oys that 

&&.tne oM'iBlkg/in Mndr ! erne 1 n^Dran^. [ ^ , ' M ; ! / !fj: * Brf ' 

^H^fa^e^not'fa'minartci'tnfe! V^wM'^t^rtn'e 

country, does he live; I'irlquired. . 

. In Pittsburg, sir. ! ' 

That is £oo mites from my. home, -and a much 

longer distance from where this gentleman resides, 
T am v [ixla d'ij; 3i3ffj brus ^niooT-bniin ?:h 'ioi IrjJon 
1 remarked-. , 

They were greatly disappointed that , we had no 

knowledge'of Tohrf, 1 wnorn'lney corMnfieq to ! spfealt bjE 
J t^urucn -jj-jii] jujjiio io bttrjoa aril Inn-xi fjw .ad? 
as being a devpted son. . , 

A man who used the broad Scotch, but was a native 

of. the. Old Sod, amused me\yery mucninthe'stoVe oi 
-ni .J isadopaci yd i, noli; v/ bns ni srnoo dw nnJ' 
a friend m this old town. 

"Good m«n°, w ^^l^fc^ptner^ru^ic'lobling 

.I'Dlllf'J'f Oi\< ,7IH .9mOD13W ill" 

man. , , - 

I m not well, the man replied. *■* • 

Well, ye couldna expect much in this auld world. 

Wyn ! 6 ! u^ f beMtm >f re ; adf #M& Ion03 ™ !i 

nm Mi $Tin% f l WnVtessbng™ W &4' ma^to ^y 
-a\. c >i j>>iinrH nj:.fi! bfo ad l .numow brie nurn bio on J to 



friend. 




o , 1 .fianamA ni Yihu'jyt.f?.y I 

Scotchman. r . ' 

-ni an ; .'::nrjo'j IfiriJ moil narmmna^ no^ siA' 



ft MWH ft^TO?? £? Wi 203 

. "You are still preaching - ,'' my friend remarked. . . 
"Yes and ye need a wee bit yersef. Yer all too fond 
of the money and good claiths." , ,, 

. ,. "You would ljke to be, wearing better " the propne- 

tor replied. He walked over to the counter and said 

r . . ,, .;;■■ )-:"!'! ':*; .>:! j: us ''Mirtran yiiKl 

very emphatically : 

"I wouldna be goin' aboot with ony different claiths 
and ye have na recht to be judgin' me by them. If 
the hert is recht it does na matter aboot the claiths." 

"Well, do you think you did right in not speaking 
of the faults of the cow you sold that poor woman?" 

"I did na ken of her faults when I bought her ; I had 
to learn them afterward and I sold her to the woman 
as the mon did to me." 

"Yes, but that did not justify you in selling the cow 
in that way, and you should not be preaching to us." 
He seemed nonpulsed for a few minutes, but soon ral- 
lied and said: 

"Look well to yoursel for I dute not you will find 
some trouble in the finishing up." 

When he saw me coming out of the office he said : 
"I was wonderin' who you were and I denna ken 
noo. I denna ken whether I would be ony better if 
I did." 

Then scanning me closely, said : "Well, I could na 
say I would be ony worse." 

"Well," I replied, "I am trying hard to behave so 
that no one by knowing me will be any the worse." 

"Eh, but I judge by yer tongue ye came from a 
langer distance than meself, and I dute not have a 
great experience." 

He became quite interested in the account I gave 
him of America. In the few days I spent in this town 



204 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

I became acquainted with some of Ireland's choice 
characters. The brother of two of my friends, who 
was a fine fellow, enlisted with the Imperial Yeomanry 
and went to the front and when I left Ireland he was 
languishing in a Boer prison. 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 205 



/ 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

BANGOR AND CARRICKFERGUS- 

BANGOR is a seaside resort at the mouth of Bel- 
fast Lough, on the County Down side, about 
twelve miles from Belfast. There is a mini- 
ature bay running in from the sea, on one side of 
which slopes a beautiful hill on which are terraced a 
number of large, fine residences. On visiting this 
town for the first time I rode in a large brake from 
Newtonards, a distance of five miles, a very pictur- 
esque section of the country. There were very many 
quaint farm houses and little, old, thatched cottages, 
some of them in ruins. We passed near Lord Duffer- 
in's magnificent estate on the top of a great hill. On 
the estate is Hellen's Tower, made famous by Tenny- 
son and Browning and other poets. Some part of 
the channel fleet were lying - in and around the har- 
bor, which drew large crowds of people from Belfast 
and the surrounding country. It was a gala day. 
Scores of lads and lassies were thronging the sea 
front, apparently not so much interested in the fleet 
as they were in each other. The elder folks could be 
seen standing in groups, who evidently had not seen 
each other for sometime, and passed out the Irish wit 
very freely, judging by the way I heard them laugh- 
ing. I wandered about the town and along the sea 
front and mingled with the crowd and presume none 
of them had the least thought I was from Yankee 
land, for some with whom I got in conversation were 



l 2o6 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

greatly surprised when they learned I was one of 
Uncle Sam's sons. 

Several times afterward I visited this town with 
friends. One Saturday evening I rendered a wee bit 
of assistance in the entertainment under the head of 
"The pleasant Saturday night for the people," given 
in one of the halls. I there met Rev. Hilf, wh&.il- 
" formed'' me he finished his college course in One o^la 6 
"institutions' in New York City. ''"To' me 1 J it was like 
meeting some one from home, and 'I 'greatly enjoyed 
the conversation about Old AirleWci The following 
evening I went' with 'frieii'd Bradly out to' & very old 
farm house t J o a ; 'reli£'i'o vis meeting. Oh our "arrival 
there we found the old fashioned kitchen crowded 
with plain country folk, who joined heartily in singing 
some of Moody and Sankey's hymns. It was a plaiii, 
simple service, but a very profitable one to those who 
had gathered there fro'rri those homes in that farming 
district. This house was 200 years old. 

The "Home of Rest," terraced on the side of a great 
hill overlooking the sea, is an institution that has 
proven a blessing to many over-worked men and wo- 
men of Belfast and other towns and Cities in Ireland. 
This is under the direction of a band of Christian men 
of Belfast, who seem to possess the practical kind of 
Christianity, and devote their time arid means to' the 
lifting up of humanity. There are three fine brick 
buildings: One for the mothers and their children; 
another for men, and One for young women. Persons 
can remain for a "fortnight" for a very moderate sum 
and, if without sufficient means, are entertained 'fre'e 
of charge. These men are not only interested in' this 
'institution, bui also in mission work in Belfast, hav- 



.claosl&a aojaHDAa aaawAY 

A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 207 

qu ballED si tloi arfo frsriW" :poi?- bius.svjsal.qj miri 
ing planted two missions in a district m v which, they 

Larrickmrgus.^r-ln company \yith three gentlemen, 




ru no Dion ipry srnnsaooi firDanssama ion. pjsii yarU 

welcome, both from him and his excellent wife, trode 

fast Lough,,! on the County Antrim side. It was a 



fast Lough, <on the County Antrim side. 

,m<ivj br®. 5M1 ^aziJorr^rtiaoor.msrDQ^ vjidv -jfrioa 

pleasant ride-pi about nme'miles along the snore road. 

~ h J f f < j 1 ] J g "/JJijMIiff J ft - j J3J '/ J 1 1 ( >7 J F ' Jd )Jl I f \C) " ( ' f f 1 1 ' I - 

We passed a number of esiates and through 'several 
Abbey, a town in which, I afterward spent a very pleasr 

--nil I • 7 *)Dff5l3P fi 8£ 88313SIJ ai-JI JtUfl ,£IQl1 bfJ THU.£ 

,.amt evening in company with Rev. Maguire^t the 
home of a, very bright, intelligent old lady, whose wit 
could not be surpassed* (Jn, 6ur, wayto Carnckfur- 

-U 1 J %HISI .Jil3fTt£irt£ I ii s] >!ij()f/: .nsrJ.VcT ll'Jt/lrj 31 

gus, these gentlemen related their experience. m mis- 
sion work and gave some very amusing incidents. 
They visited a home where the man and his wife both 
indulged in a "wee drap" and, when charged with the 
article, each had a pugilistic turn of mind. When 
they entered the house they found the woman lying 
on the bed fearfully drunk, and the man only a trifle 
better. He was in the act of placing her feet on the 
table which he had placed near the bed. When they 
questioned him as to what he intended to do, his re- 
ply was : 

"Och, sure, I'm goin' to brake her legs. It's the 
only way I can keep her sober." 

But they persuaded him to try some other method. 
At another time when they went in she was standing 
beside an old man lying on the lounge, bidding him 
"quit the house," but he had no idea of changing his 
quarters and would raise his voice as she denia.ndecl 



208 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

him to leave and sing: "When the roll is called up 
yonder, I'll be there." 

"But for yees," she said to her husband, "I might 
be out convertin' the heathen." With all the labor 
these men had bestowed on this man and his wife, 
they had not succeeded in loosening their hold on the 
bottle. 

When we rode into the town we found it contained 
some very ancient looking houses. The old castle, 
standing on the sea front, was a great military strong- 
hold during the Anglo-Norman invasion. It was 
built by John DeCaursey in n jj. It still remains in 
a fair condition, but it is useless as a defence. This 
town has quite a history. The Scotch troops under 
General Monroe occupied it from 1644-1648. It was 
re-taken by Gen. Monk for Parliament. King Wil- 
liam visited it in 1690. 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 20$ 

/ 

CHAPTER XXX. 

PORT RUSH AND GIANTS' CAUSEWAY. 

ONE fine morning I boarded the train at the 
Northern Countis station in Belfast, and very 
much enjoyed the ride through County Antrim 
to Port Rush, a quiet seaside resort. It contains sev- 
eral fine hotels, as well as many splendid residences. 
None of the seaside resorts I visited in England, Ire- 
land or Scotland were on such a large scale as those 
in America. They have a more substantial appear- 
ance, as the buildings are either brick or stone. The 
bathers are not very numerous. The ladies and gen- 
tlemen as a rule are not allowed to bathe together. 
Possibly if there were such restrictions at our seaside 
resorts, we would not see such a multitude of bath- 
ers. They have bathing cars, attached to which were 
horses who> drew the car out into the surf and the 
person stepped from the dressing room into the surf. 
On the beach was an amateur troupe with blackened 
faces, singing negro melodies and amusing the peo- 
ple with their funny jokes. In front of one of the 
hotels was another troupe attired in white muslin 
robes singing, after which they gave an acrobatic per- 
formance and were not forgetful to pass around their 
little tin cup for a contribution. 

In my wanderings through the town I came to a 
monument erected in memory of Dr. Adam Clark. 
On the stone was the following inscription: 

"Dr. Adam Clark, born 1760; died 1832. A ser- 

14 



210 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

vant of the Most High who, in preaching the gospel 
with great labor and apostolic grace for more than 50 
years, shewed to myriads the way to salvation. And 
his commentary on the Holy Scripture and other 
works of piety and learning yet speak to passing gen- 
erations." 

This large granite monument stands near the beau- 
tiful Wesleyan Church which bears the name of this 
wonderful man. In the Old City Road Chapel yard 
beside the tomb of John Wesley is a marble slab mark- 
ing the spot where sleeps the dust of Dr. Clark. 

After seeing the greater part of Port Rush, I 
boarded an electric tram and rode down along the 
coast to the Giants' Causeway. All along were these 
huge rocks with wonderful formations, in which I was 
particularly interested. Then stretching out as far as 
the eye could reach were the beautiful green fields 
fringed with huge rows, making a very fine picture. 
We passed near the old Dunluce Castle, standing on a 
huge rock about 100 feet above the sea level. It is 
connected to the land by a narrow stone wall. 

We stopped at Bushmills, a town noted for choice 
whisky. The town was interesting to me, but the ar- 
ticle of which it boasted was out of my line. A short 
ride from here brought us to the Causeway. Upon 
stepping from the car a man, accompanied by a boy, 
came up to me and said : 

"I think I will go around with you." 

Well, I concluded before he did, I would learn who 
he was. He saw I was searching about on the wall 
of memory for his photo and said to me : 

"I came over on the steamer with you from Amer- 
ica. 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 211 

Then I remembered him as a man for whom the pas- 
sengers had the most profound respect, and I gladly 
joined him and his son. 

The Causeway is a great curiosity. The stones have 
the appearance of being hewn out by human hands 
and placed in position. The old legend is the giants 
attempted to build a causway across to Scotland and 
failed. Well, the failure is true. Whether or not the 
other is, seems rather misty. We climbed to the sum- 
mit of the great bluff overlooking the sea from which 
the view was charming. Upon coming down, one of 
the boatmen said to us : 

"Don't yees want to go out to the caves? I'll take 
yees out for four shillin's." 

The Irish sea was on her good behavior. So we 
decided to let Paddy show us the sights. As ke rowed 
us out to the caves the great sea cliffs resembled a 
huge wall standing along the coast. The oarsman 
was full of his subject and told us some wonderful 
stories about the caves. When we came to the 
mouth of the first cave he said : 

"This is forty-five feet high and 350 feet in length." 
As we entered this weird looking place an indescriba- 
ble feeling took possession of me, and by the expres- 
sion on the face of the gentleman and his son they, 
too, were awed. The water rushed in through the 
narrow passage and made a hideous noise as it dashed 
against the rocks. Far up on the ledge of the rocks 
on either side were sea gulls emitting some strange 
notes. After the boatman had rowed some distance 
into the cave, I said to the gentleman : 

"This is awfully grand, but I am not desirous of ex- 
ploring any farther," and suggested to the boatman 



212 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

<vr - ii 

to turn the prow of our craft toward the entrance. 
On coming out he said : 

"Now, I'll take yees to the other cave which is 
larger than the one we just left. It is 96 feet high and 
600 feet long." 

An old man with a pistol sat on a rock at the en- 
trance, and after we had entered he discharged his fire 
arm, the report of which was like a cannon as it echoed 
and re-echoed through the cavern. This cave semed 
even more weird than the other. There were hun- 
dreds of sea gulls, young and old, sitting on the rocks. 

"Shall I take yees any farther?" he asked. 

"No," said the gentleman, "I think we have gone 
far enough." There was no objection raised by the 
Yankee, so we soon found our way out into the sun- 
shine. While rowing us up to the Causeway he gave 
us some little account of the dangers to which he was 
exposed in the fishing season. On reaching the 
Causeway, he said : 

"I'll land yees here and yee'l each pay a six pence to 
that lad yonder." 

A syndicate had purchased the Causeway and 
charged an entrance fee which, I thought, preferable 
to being beseiged with beggars, as was the case on 
my former visit. When we paid the boatman for our 
trip, the gentleman asked him if that was sufficient. 

"Och, sure, that's what I said I'd take yees for, but 
the price of a drink would be in order, sir,"he replied. 

"We don't believe in strong drink," I said. 

"Well, sure, I'm better wantin' it than gettin' it," 
was his ready answer. 

He came out on the Causeway and showed us what 
is called the ladies' fan. The stones are so formed as 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 213 

to strikingly resemble a fan. The wishing chair was 
only a short distance away, and in coming to it I said : 
"The wisest thing an old bachelor can wish for is a 
wife." As I sat down, he said : 

"You may be here a year after getting on, wishing 
you had none." If some of whom I have heard could 
by sitting on the wishing chair get disentangled from 
the meshes of matrimony, they would gladly cross the 
wide sea to the Causeway. 

We drank from a little spring on the Causeway and 
one would wonder how fresh water could be found 
there. The gentleman and his son wished to go to 
another part of the Causeway, so J bade them adieu, 
and came out of the gate and turned my steps in the 
direction of the electric tram. 

Near the gate sat an old woman with a basket, sell- 
ing trinkets of various kinds. "Buy something, will 
yees?" she said. While looking over her stock of 
goods, I said: 

"Aunty, how long have you been about the Cause- 
way?" 

"Five and twinty years, sir." 

"Well, I think you are the same old lady I met here 
five years ago." 

"It's quite likely, sir. I'm the widee K — . Me hus- 
band and son were both drowned at sea." 

"Yes, you are the one. Why, I have talked of you 
over in America." 

"God bless yees for that. The Americans are very 
good to me whin they comes here. Yees can tell 
them I'm not the same widee K — that I was whin 
yees was here before. I've been converted and have 
the grace of God in me heart." 



214 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

"Well, I am glad to hear that," I replied. 

"Well, sure, me daughter thought me dyin' some- 
time ago, but I told her I was not afraid for I was 
depinding on the finished work of Christ." Then 
looking up into my face, said : ■ 

"Yees see, I didn't die," and, gathering up some of 
her wares held them up and remarked : "I'm here yet 
depindin' on the grace of God for me livin' and yer 
few pence ye'll be spindin' wid me." 

She was a very practical old woman. She did not 
believe in depending alone on the grace, but also on 
the few pence she gathered in. She gave me some 
sea shells along with the articles I purchased, and as 
she did, said : "Take these and the poor old widee be- 
stows her blessin' wid 'em." She continued to bless 
me until I was some distance away. 

On coming back to Port Rush I met the proprietor 
of the hotel where I stopped when in Londonderry 
on my previous trip to Ireland, who, when I made 
myself known to him, had me go with him to his hotel 
and meet his family. The day was greatly enjoyed 
by the Yankee at the wonderful Giants' Causeway. 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 215 



CHAPTER XXXI. 

PORTADOWN, LURGAN, BESSBROOK AND LISBURN. 

ORTADOWN is a town of about 10,00 inhab- 
itants. There are a number of linen mills and 
a few other industries. The Rev. A — invited 
me to spend two Sabbaths with him and help him in 
the Sunday afternoon service in the hall. It seats 
about 800 people, and both Sabbaths it was densely 
crowded, which was the usual atendance. At one of 
the services he asked me if I had an American flag. 

"Yes," I replied, "I have carried the American flag 
with me since I left home." 

When I gave it to him he placed it on the stand be- 
side the English flag, and when he did so the people 
shouted and applauded lustily. 

"I am glad to see those two flags blending so har- 
moniously. They represent the two greatest coun- 
tries in the world, and these two countries will go side 
by side to civilize and Christianize this old world." 
Then pointing to the Stars and Stripes, I said : 

"My parents and grandparents were born under 
that flag, and why should I not love Old Glory? And 
my great-grandparents were born under the English 
flag; why should not I have a profound respect for 
Union Jack?" 

In a meeting in one of the churches I spoke of the 
sudden death of an old friend to whom I bade fare- 
well on leaving my home, and remarked that he for- 
merly lived in an adjoining county in a town not far 



216 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

from Portadown. The next evening a fine, intelli- 
gent, young man holding a position in one of the 
banks, came to the manse and requested to see me. 

"The gentleman you made mention of last eve- 
ning," he said, "was my uncle. We were not aware of 
his death, as we have lost sight of him since father's 
death, who was his youngest brother. One of my 
brothers is living on the old homestead and I would 
like for you to pay a visit to the old place." 

I had a great desire to see the old home of which 
I heard my old friend speak so often, but the oppor- 
tunity did not come to me to take the trip. The fam- 
ily who kindly entertained me were very refined and 
nice people. The son of the good, motherly, old lady 
was a bachelor who had passed several milestones in 
the advance of me, and the daughter had been content 
to remain in the old home and lift the cares of the 
household from the shoulders of the good, old mother. 

Lurgan. — In coming from Portadown I broke my 
journey at Lurgan. In my wanderings through this 
typical Irish town I saw a familiar name on a sign and 
stopped and said to the man standing in the door of 
the shop : "Have you relatives in America?" 

"Yes, sir, in Philadelphia. My uncle and aunt, 
who had a large family went over there years ago." 

He mentioned the names of his uncle's sons. 

"Why, sir, I know them very well. One of them 
is an intimate friend of mine. They are all members 
of the old Kensington Methodist Episcopal Church," 
I replied. 

"Their father and mother were very active members 
Oi the Methodist body when they lived here, so I have 
heard my father say," he remarked. Then pointing 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 217 

to a fine, large home at the end of the street, said : 
"Their aunt resides there and I know she would be 
as pleased as I am to hear from the folks." But I 
only had a few minutes to make the train and was 
obliged to hurry away. Lisburn is a few miles dis- 
tant from Lurgan. 

Lisburn. — This is a town of considerable size, but 
many of the streets are narrow and the houses very 
ancient looking. There were several very fine resi- 
dences, surrounded by splendid grounds. There is 
also a very pretty little park through which I passed. 
Like several of the towns in the North of Ireland, the 
linen business is carried on quite extensively. 

A friend holding a position in one of the large de- 
partment stores in Philadelphia, on learning I was go- 
ing to Ireland, said to me : 

"My father and mother live at Lisburn, and it is 
only a few miles from Belfast. Will you stop at the 
old home and see the folks?" When I presented my 
tall form at the door of this home and introduced 
myself as the friend of James, and had a message from 
the lad, that mother and sister laid aside their domes- 
tic duties and listened with rapt attention as I talked 
of the boy in far-off America and as soon as they 
heard the footsteps of his father they hurried to tell 
him that a friend of "Jim's" was in the parlor and his 
greeting was quite as cordial as was the mother's. 

"The boy keeps saying in his letters he is coming 
home, but we sometimes wonder whether or not we 
will ever see him," the father remarked. "Well," he 
added, "when I was a young man I had made all my 
arrangements to go to America and seek my fortune, 
but when I told my mother about my proposed trip, 



218 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

it nearly broke her heart and she grew very ill and I 
could not ever think of leaving while she lived, and 
now I am getting to be an old man and shall not at- 
tempt now to take the journey." 

In looking about the old town I came to a group of 
boys who were playing marbles. It was such an ex- 
citing game I stopped to watch it for a few minutes. 
There were several rough looking boys sitting beside 
an old stone wall who were urging on the game. It 
came to a point where it seemed it was about culmin- 
ating in a general row, so I concluded to move on. 
One of the ragged urchins shouted : 

"Go on wid yer game. This gintleman's goin' to 
put up a shillin' on the lad that wins." Then turning 
to me, said : 

"Yees have a shillin' for the lads, haven't yees?" 
The wisest thing, I thought, for me to do was to 
leave that belligerent crowd of lads, and did so amid 
their angry threats to batter each other. 

Bessbrook. — This is a fine little, prosperous factory 
town, beautifully situated. There is not a public 
house found in the town and consequently very little 
poverty. The Society of Friends, which is the lead- 
ing denomination there, has done a great deal in 
moulding the morals of the town. Mr. Geo. W — , 
who is one of the pioneers of the out-door meetings 
in Ireland, invited me to spend a Sunday in that fine, 
little town, but I regretted very much in not being 
able to do so. Many of the towns on the line of the 
Great Northern Railroad became quite familiar in my 
' frequent trips to Dublin. Drogheda, situated on the 
banks of the River Boyne, is a town of considerable 
size, judging from the view one gets from the station. 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 219 

The spires of Newry can be seen in the distance as 
one rides along on the main line. It seemed to be a 
town of some importance. On leaving Old Ireland I 
regretted not being able to visit a number of other 
towns of interest. I should especially like to have 
gone to the west coast where the scenery is said to 
be very fine. Nevertheless, I sailed away from the 
Green Isle having had the pleasure of seeing the 
greater part of that beautiful country. 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 



CHAPTER XXXII. 

ENGLAND. 

0URING my sojourn in the British Isles a man 
remarked to me : 
"Everything in America seems to be done 
on such a large scale. Even your storms and floods 
and fires are along wholesale lines," and added: "A 
Yankee visited England sometime ago and said he 
was afraid to go about too much for fear of stepping 
off into the sea." 

"Well," I replied, "America is a great country, and 
to form any idea of its immensity you will have to visit 
it and travel from the Atlantic to the Pacific coast, a 
distance of 3,000 miles ; and from the borders of Can- 
ada to Florida, and after you have traveled the length 
and breadth of our wonderful country you will think 
the Yankees are right in having large ideas of Amer- 
ica. You, too, have a fine country," I added, "and I 
am not in the same frame of mind as was my fellow 
countryman and am not afraid of stepping off into the 
sea, but my chief concern is that I will not be able to 
visit all the places of interest in your historic country." 

While many cities and towns were visited from the 
borders of Scotland to the south coast, yet I sailed 
from Old England deeply regretting being compelled 
to drop from my list many other interesting points. 
England seems like one large, cultivated garden. 
In all my travels through it I saw very little wood- 
land. The climate in winter is milder than in the 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 221 

middle and northern parts of the United States of 
America. The summers are usually very pleasant. 
Occasionally a hot wave sweeps over the country, but 
is of very short duration. While in London in the 
summer of 1900 the thermometer ran up to nearly 
100, but soon dropped again to a comfortable tem- 
perature. 

As one passes through the British Isles he can see 
the farmer gathering in his wheat, oats, hay and bar- 
ley, but there is an absence of the Indian corn grown 
so extensively in the United States. Two ears of corn 
and two sweet potatoes which I took with me from 
America were regarded as curiosities by those to 
whom they were shown as these products are not 
grown in the British Isles. 

There are four classes of people in England : Nobil- 
ity, gentry, middle and the laboring class. In Amer- 
ica we have several grades, yet I think the lines are 
drawn heavier between the classes in England than in 
Yankee Land. While I did not herd with the no- 
bility, yet regard many of them as being excellent peo- 
ple, even though some of them may entertain the 
erroneous notion that they are made of superior clay. 
In meeting many of the middle classes I found them 
refined, intelligent and warm-hearted people, as were 
many whom I met in the lower walks of life. There 
are hundreds of magnificent mansions scattered over 
the country, and those occupied by the thousands of 
the middle classes are splendid homes, while many of 
tlte dwellings of the working people which I entered 
were neatly and comfortably furnished. The major- 
ity of the houses, both large and small, are built of 
brick and in each room is an open grate in which soft 



222 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

coal is used. In many of the old houses can be seen 
the open fire place with seats arranged on either side. 
One evening in a little village in the Midlands, I sat 
in one of these quaint fire places in a house nearly 200 
years old and entertained the little company gathered 
there by giving them some account of far-away Amer- 
ica. 

"Would you like to visit America?" I asked one of 
the young men. He answered me in his broad Wor- 
cestershire dialect, and said: 

"I should like to go very much, but would want to 
go while asleep. I should not care to be conscious 
while crossing the Atlantic." 

On paying my second visit to this beautiful country, 
I sailed from Dublin to Liverpool. 

"What will you charge to take me to the Liverpool 
steamer at North Wall?" I inquired of a Jarvey in 
Dublin. 

"One and six, sorr," he replied. Scarcely had I 
seated myself on the Irish jaunting car when the Jar- 
vey bade his fine animal "be off," and he did so at a 
high rate of speed. In spite of my tenacious grip, I 
thought myself and luggage would be thrown into 
the street, but I managed to hold on until we reached 
the quay. 

On the steamer was a tall, gaunt, old woman 
dressed in very quaint style who was selling apples 
and clay pipes. I took a seat near her, feeling quite 
sure she had an abundance of pure, Irish wit. 

"Here's yer apples and clay pipes," she shouted 
with her rich brogue. 

"How do you sell them, aunty?" a young man in- 
quired. 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 223 

"They're a penny apiece, sorr; these are Irish ap- 
ples and the pipes are made of Irish clay," and added, 
in a way that made us all laugh heartily: "And the old 
woman sittin' in front of yees is made of a bit of Irish 
clay." 

"I'll give you a penny for three of your pipes," said 
a soldier to her. She gave him a scathing look and 
said: 

"Yees'll do what? Ye'll do nothin' of the kind. 
I'm surprised that a soldier would be tryin' to take 
advantage of an old widee doin' her best to make a 
dacent livin'." 

Then turning to me, said : "Och, well, I had a boy of 
me own who wint to the army and whin his time was 
out, sure he'd no money to come home wid, and I 
had to pawn me old dress and shawl to get him back. 
Och, well, I was his mother, and what else could I do? 
He's workin' now and bringin' me in a few shillin's; 
that helps pay the rent. Yees knows if ye haven't 
that the constable has yerself and little bit of furniture 
sittin' out on the street." 

"It is a great responsibility rearing children," I re- 
marked. 

"It jist is, sorr." 

"I am a bachelor and have no such responsibilities." 

"Yees are what — an old bachelor? Sure, Idon't 
believe yees." 

When I assured her I was, she said : 

"If yees are, I'm ashamed of yees." Then looking 
about at the young women on deck, said : "I'll be get- 
tin' yees a young girl here." Then peeping out from 
under her old black bonnet and, looking at me sharply, 
remarked : "And it's not a very young one yer need- 



224 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

ing, either." I joined in laughing with those who 
overheard the remark, and concluded the old woman's 
vision was quite clear when she decided that I was 
too ancient for a modern lass. 

"God bless the folks that have bought me out. 
Sure the world's pretty good to me, after all," she said 
on leaving the boat. 

We all felt indebted to the old woman for the Irish 
wit she so freely passed out. 

A short ride brought us out to the mouth of the Lif- 
fey, and when we came out on the old Irish sea I found 
her behaving much better than when I had dealings 
with her a few years previous. Then she robbed me 
of all my provender. Several times in crossing this 
body of water I found her rather troublesome. On 
coming from Dublin after a two weeks' visit just pre- 
vious to returning to America, she was in a very bad 
temper and had most of the passengers begging for 
mercy. Two young men whom I met on my jour- 
ney from London to Dublin and whom I chanced to 
meet returning, said to me : 

"We never feel any bad effects from a tossing on the 
sea. We always keep out on deck and face the 
breeze." 

"Well," I replied, "my only safety is in lying on my 
back and I think I will at once take that position here 
on deck." All about me were those whose laughter 
had been turned into a cry of distress. In a short 
time one of these young men who had boasted of 
being sea worthy leaned over the rail of the steamer 
and hopelessly cast his "bread upon the water." His 
brother stood beside him with a woe begone look and 
in a few minutes he, too, was disposing of his stock. 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 225 

"Don't be so generous," I remarked to them. 
They made no reply, but there was an expression on 
their faces that spoke volumes. It amused me, even 
though not feeling very comfortable myself, as I saw 
those two six-foot lads hanging in almost equal pro- 
portions over the rail, paying tribute to Neptune. 
One of them remarked to the other after landing that 
he "looked like a dying duck in a thunder storm." 

Returning to my trip to Liverpool — soon the Hill 
of Howth and Ireland's eye and the peaks of the 
Wicklow mountains disappeared and darkness set- 
tled down upon us and my tall form was soon tucked 
away for the night. 

On coming out on deck the next morning we were 
steaming up the river Mersey within sight of the large 
and busy city of Liverpool. My attention was at- 
tracted by the miles of stone docks in which were ves- 
sels of various kinds hailing from all parts of the 
world. There is nothing to compare with these huge 
stone docks, of which Liverpool can well boast. Be- 
fore crossing the Atlantic, I fancied that Liverpool 
was a city of very little importance outside of its ship- 
ping, but was greatly surprised on learning it was a 
manufacturing city, with a population of nearly 700,- 
000. As we walked through its crowded streets and 
saw the many large, handsome buildings and finely ar- 
ranged shops, I remarked to my friend : "Did you ex- 
pect to find such a large and thriving city?" 

"No," he replied, "I judged it was scarcely worth a 
visit by the way the tourists give it the go by." 

Many persons, as soon as they land, take the train 
and hurry away to the great city of London, little 
thinking there is so much of interest in Liverpool. 



15 



226 A YAN'KEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

Some of my friends in America had requested me to 
call on their relatives living near Littleboro, and also 
others living at Oldham. "What station will I take a 
train for Littleboro?" I inquired of several persons. 

"I con't say," was their answer. It must be prop- 
erly named, I thought, for it is so little that no one 
seemed to know of it. Finally I received the informa- 
tion of one of the guards at the railway station. On 
learning it was beyond Oldham, I took the train for 
the latter place, breaking my journey for a short time 
at the city of Manchester. The smoke from its hun- 
dreds of industries rose in great clouds over the city. 
Like Liverpool, it contains many large and massive 
buildings, and its streets are lined with stores or 
"shops" that seemed as attractive as hands could make 
them. They were doing a thriving business, judging 
from the crowds of people at the counters. However, 
many of them might have been like some persons on 
this side of the Atlantic who exhaust the patience of 
the clerks by having nearly the entire stock shown 
them and finally leave without making a purchase. 

Manchester is at the head of the great ship canal. 
There were several large crafts unloading cotton, 
which I presume came from "away down South in 
Dixie." The population of the city is nearly 500,000, 
and in the residential portion can be seen many mag- 
nificent homes. 

A short ride from Manchester brought me to Old- 
ham. From its appearance it is a very ancient town, 
but quite a busy place. "Is the proprietor in?" I in- 
quired of a bright young man at the business house of 
the gentleman on whom I was to call. 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 227 

"No, sir," he replied. "If you wish to see him on 
important business I will give you his home address." 

"I am from America, and have a message from rel- 
atives, but will not have time to call at his home as I 
am on my way to Littleboro." 

"He'll be disappointed in not seeing you, for I pre- 
sume he is anxious to hear from the folks." 

"At which station will I take a train for Littleboro?" 
I inquired. 

"From the Mumps station," he replied. A strange 
name, I thought, for a railway station. On reaching 
there I inquired the time of the train leaving and, get- 
ting the information, seated myself to await the com- 
ing of the train, thinking it left from the same plat- 
form as did the other. 

"This train for Littleboro?" I asked of the guard as 
it came rolling into the station. 

"No, this train does not stop there," was his reply. 
Shortly after, another train came in and on inquiry re- 
ceived the same answer. 

"You informed me the train left for Littleboro at a 
certain time, and two have already gone and they in- 
formed me that neither of them stopped there," I said 
to the guard. 

"Oh, sir," he replied, "it leaves from yon sidin', 
and there will be no train now for an hour." 

It was as much trouble to get away from Mumps 
station as it was tussling with a case of mumps. I 
took a stroll through the town just as the many large 
mills of various kinds were sending out their hungry 
employees for their noon-day meal. Many of the 
men and women wore clogs and there was one grand 
clatter as they brought their wooden soles down on 



228 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

the pavements. Many of the women wore white sun- 
bonnets, and as I stemmed this great tide of humanity 
I saw some of them peeping out from the sides of their 
bonnets trying to carry on a flirtation with the tall 
Yankee bachelor; but I concluded that to acknowl- 
edge the sly glances of these English lassies would 
scarcely be in keeping with one who had long since 
left the summer time of youth, so pressed my way 
through the sun-bonnet brigade without answering 
back. 

I found the train waiting at "yon sidin' " on my 
arrival at the station and shortly after seating myself 
in the compartment was speeding away toward my 
destination. In front of me sat a fine looking gentle- 
man who soon engaged in conversation with me. 
Sitting near him was a plainly dressed woman who was 
well furnished with tongue, and used it quite freely 
with us. At one of the nearby stations a tall, rustic 
looking man came into the compartment, seating him- 
self beside me, and as he did so spoke to this woman. 
She gave him a very inquiring look and said : "I don't 
seem to know you. 

"I met you at Mrs. Adley's some time ago." 

"Oh, yes; I remember you now," she replied, and 
added: "Poor woman, she's had a deal of trouble 
with her husband. If he had been as hard-workin' 
as she, they would have had a deal of money by this 
time." 

"Oh, well," he said, "that's the way; some men get 
good wives and some poor ones. My first wife was an 
angel, but the one I have now is far from it. She 
went away on her holidays last week, and I told her 
I didn't care if she never came back, but for the chil- 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 229 

dren. Why, she's not satisfied with anything. I 
give her all my 'wage' and then she's not content. 
Why, my life is bothered out with her." 

The man was full of his subject and it seemed to af- 
ford him relief to be able to ventilate himself. When 
he left the train I said to the old gentleman: "That 
man does not seem to have any curtains at his win- 
dows. He lays bare his domestic troubles to the pub- 
lic," and further remarked: "Marriage is a failure in 
many cases." 

He straightened up and looking me in the eye, said : 
"Not in mine, sir; I have a good wife and nine chil- 
dren. I have been married over forty years and love 
my wife better than ever. Why, sir, I owe all my suc- 
cess in life to her. I was a gambler when first married 
and her good counsel and Christian example led me to 
seek the better life." 

The old man's eloquence on the matrimonial life 
fairly shook the foundations of my idea of single bless- 
edness. When the old man contracted the love fever 
in the long ago he took it properly. So many who 
once had a severe attack are now shaking with a chill ; 
rather an uncomfortable way of living with the home 
thermometer down below zero. 

An old colored woman came to a store begging one 
day, and when one of the clerks dropped something 
in her basket, she said : 

"That's right; help de widows. However, I 
needn't be one without I want to. But this old love 
am so adulterated these days there am no trusting it." 
The old colored woman's idea of this old love being 
rather weakened down was about correct. 

This old gentleman left the train at Rockdale where 



230 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

he informed me he resided, and which, he said, was a 
town of 70,000 inhabitants. A short ride from this 
town brought me to Littleboro. On my arrival I 
found I would have a walk of nearly two miles over a 
very hilly road to the home of the other relative of my 
friend. The wind was blowing quite briskly and I 
found it rather difficult to propel my huge frame 
against a head wind to the top of those steep hills. 
With my breathing apparatus a "wee bit" impaired, I 
finally reached this little summer resort, the greater 
part of which was built around a beautiful little sheet 
of water. 

"Could you tell me where Mr. Smith lives?" I in- 
quired of a man who was holding up one corner of a 
public house. 

"In yon 'ouse," he replied, eying me sharply, as if 
he thought for the information he was entitled to a 
fee. My knock was answered by an old man who 
opened the door ajar and peeped out. "What's 
wanted?" he said. 

"Is Mrs. Smith in?" for it was she for whom I had 
the message. 

"No, she's not here, now," he replied in a sad tone 
of voice, and began closing the door. 

"I am from America and have a message for her 
from her relatives," I remarked. 

He swung the door open wide and said : "Come in, 
sir. I have been expecting a gentleman to call from 
America, but was not aware you were the one." 

As he led the way into the room he pointed to the 
bed in the corner and said in a broken tone of voice : 
"My poor wife died there last March and I have been 
so very lonely since, I am trying to pack up to get 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 231 

away, but I am so bothered I can't do much. Can 
you remain with me a few days?" he asked; but I had 
to decline his kind invitation as I was on my way to 
Canterbury, and expected to break my journey at 
Birmingham and London. There was such a gloom 
pervaded the old house, whose sole occupant was the 
heart-broken old man, that I was glad to depart after 
giving him some account of his wife's dear ones in 
America. The day was nearly done when I arrived 
in Liverpool. The evening was spent with friends 
with whom I stopped a few days previous to sailing for 
home on my first trip. The family circle of these two 
families had been broken by death and on inquiry as 
to the whereabouts of some of the young folks who 
made the evening so pleasant for all of us on the pre- 
vious visit, was informed that they were in their own 
homes, looking after the little ones. 

BIRMINGHAM. 

The next morning I left for Birmingham. It was a 
long journey, through tunnels, villages, large and 
small towns, and over the peaks of Derbyshire where 
the scenery was charming. On reaching Derby, 
which is a very large town, I knew that our journey 
was nearly completed. We ran into the immense 
New street station at Birmingham, which is one of the 
great centres of the London & North Western, Mid- 
land and Great Western roads. There seems to be 
no end to trains arriving and departing from this sta- 
tion. When I stepped from the train on one of the 
many platforms it was with a different feeling than 
when I arrived there in that summer evening of 1894. 
Then I had just landed for the first time on the shore 



232 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

of Old England and was a stranger in a strange land, 
but I had traveled over the country and walked the 
streets of Birmingham so often since then that it was 
quite home-like. This city has a population of 500,- 
000 and is one of the greatest manufacturing places in 
the British Isles. It is said that almost everything 
that can be made of metal is manufactured in this 
beautiful city. Like Glasgow, it has the reputation of 
being one of the best governed cities in the world. 
As one walks through its nicely kept streets, he is 
convinced that whoever manages that part of the 
affair of the city did it properly. The long line of fine 
business houses and streets thronged with well 
dressed people leads one to think he is in no mean city. 
Joseph Chamberlain, one of Old England's great 
statesmen, resides in this city. 

On coming out to New street, I wended my way up 
to the Harborne 'bus, which stood in front of a very 
old church. Seating myself on the top of the 'bus, 
was soon on my way through the busy streets out to 
Harborn, a beautiful suburban town about a mile from 
the city proper. When we came to the five ways, we 
took the old Harborn road, on either side of which 
were many splendid homes, surrounded with large 
gardens, very tastefully arranged. On my arrival at 
what I was pleased to call "my English home," when 
in England before, I was received very cordially by the 
friends. Some changes had taken place in the old 
home. The few years had told some little on the 
head of the house and his good wife. The young man 
who frequently called and was so deeply interested in 
the young lady, had taken her to the old church near 
by and had the nuptial knot tied, and were in a nest 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 233 

of their own with a young birdling, who made it all 
the brighter by his presence. The little girl of thir- 
teen summers had stepped over into womanhood, and 
evidently had an idea of following her elder sister's ex- 
ample, for I saw a lad looking in her direction with 
expectations. The bright, intelligent young man 
who made my stay in that home so pleasant, had not 
disappointed the fond hopes of his father and mother, 
for he had become a successful merchant in the great 
city of London. The little boy whose merry voice I 
so often heard shouting with the boys at play around 
the school house near by had succeeded in packing 
his head with sufficient knowledge to have secured a 
good position in one of the many large banks in Bir- 
mingham. 

On Sabbath we attended service in the old church, 
whose tower is 800 years old. The former part of the 
service was very elaborate, after which the rector de- 
livered a very able and helpful sermon. He packed 
more of the Gospel in his discourse than many to 
whom I have listened. There is a beautiful yard sur- 
rounding the church, in which sleep many whose 
forms in the long ago were familiar on the streets of 
Harborn. Near the church is the magnificent man- 
sion of Walter Chamberlain, Esq., brother of the 
statesman. It is one of the most complete homes in 
England. The extensive grounds that surround it 
are filled with choice plants and flowers. There are 
also some animals and huge birds from far away coun- 
tries. Some time ago death claimed their eldest 
son, a bright, promising lad, and since then, owing 
to the gloom that seems to pervade this beautiful res- 
idence, they have resided in another palatial home a 



234 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

short distance away. The head gardener, whom I 
previously met, took great pleasure in showing me 
through the grounds and immense hot houses. 

SHENLEY FIELDS SCHOOLS. 

One day we walked over to the Shenley Fields 
Schools. It was a very enjoyable walk of nearly two 
miles. We went for some distance along a beautiful 
old road, passing a number of very old farm houses. 
A friend of the gentleman with me lived on one of 
these farms. We stopped for a short time, and were 
interested in looking about the place. The house 
and brick barns had the appearance of having stood 
for centuries. There was once a small castle on this 
old farm. Some part of the ruins were still remaining. 
It is said to have been destroyed by Cromwell. A 
short walk across the meadows brought us to the 
schools. This home for friendless children is beauti- 
fully located on a hill overlooking a fine stretch of 
country, about seven miles from, Birmingham. It 
consists of a number of two-story brick cottages and 
workshops and a chapel. The superintendent, Mr. 
D — , whom I had previously met, took a great deal of 
pleasure in showing us through. This gentleman 
seemed to have won the hearts of the little tots, as well 
as the older ones, judging from the pleased look on 
their faces as we passed through the different cottages. 

A man and his wife have charge of a cottage, hav- 
ing about twenty children under their care. The chil- 
dren style them "father" and "mother." The "fath- 
er" learns the boys the trade he follows, while the 
"mother" teaches the girls the art of housekeeping 
and of plying the needle. There were over a hun- 
dred children in the school who seemed very con- 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 235 

tented and happy. Many of them had never been ac- 
customed to home comforts. The children reared in 
these homes are educated and nicely trained and well 
fitted to go out and meet the responsibilities of life. 
We were informed that many had gone out from this 
institution who were filling good positions and were 
reflecting great credit on the home. We met several 
who had returned on a visit. One of them was a 
young man attired in one of Uncle Sam's naval suits. 
He informed us that he arrived in America at the 
breaking out of the Spanish-American war and shortly 
afterward enlisted in the navy and was in the engage- 
ment at Santiago. "Our ship is out cruising and we 
are lying for a few days at Portsmouth, so I got a leave 
of absence and ran down home,' he said. 

After a brief stay at Harborn, I hurried away to 
another section of England. 

NORTHAMPTON. 

This is a fine old town, with a population of 50,000. 
It dates well back in the past. Twenty parliaments 
were held here between the twelfth and fourteenth 
centuries. The castle, with the exception of one 
tower, was demolished in 1662. The town is noted 
for its extensive boot and shoe manufactories. Its 
business streets are narrow but contain some very fine 
stores. The city hall is a very large, substantial build- 
ing. On going through it I saw a large shield with 
the names of the mayors of the city from 1377. 
There are a number of old churches, some of which I 
visited. In the church of the Holy Sepulcher were the 
names of the incumbents from 1226 to 1890. There 
was also a slab on which were brass plates with carved 



236 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

figures, representing one Gury Coole and his two 
wives and twelve children. He died in 1640. The 
old St. Peter's Church was a time-worn structure. 
The list of rectors on the board at the entrance dates 
from 1220 to 1873, the first being Thomas De Fisker- 
ton. In passing along one of the streets I saw a house 
bearing the date of 1595. On the front was a coat of 
arms. This house is said to have belonged to John 
Howard, who was a friend of Oliver Cromwell. The 
house once occupied by Cromwell is built of iron- 
stone and looks substantial enough to stand for cen- 
turies. 

I was invited to spend a few days in the home of a 
gentleman whom I met on the train going to London 
in 1894, and who showed me such great kindness on 
my arrival in that great city. I said to him and his 
good wife that day in Exeter Hall : "You have erected 
a monument of kind deeds that I will never take 
down." 

On entering their splendid home they gave me 
abundant proof that they still possessed the real 
essence of kindness. One morning we took a drive 
to Little Brington, in which is the house of George 
Washington's ancestors. It is about seven miles 
from Northampton. In passing through this fine sec- 
tion of Northamptonshire, one of my friends pointed 
out the ruins of an old church near the battlefield at 
Nasby. It was said to have been badly damaged by 
Oliver Cromwell. One would think that Cromwell's 
destructive bump was well developed by the number 
of places he is said to have destroyed. Little Bring- 
ton is a very quaint little town. The house in which 
lived George Washington's ancestors looked ancient 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 237 

enough to have been built many centuries ago. Law- 
rence Washington, who was once a very prosperous 
man, but who met with reverses which left him desti- 
tute, accepted of the offer of his friend, Lord Spencer, 
and moved into the little cottage in Little Brington in 
the year 1606. Shortly after occupying his cottage, 
death claimed one of their children and that, with 
their financial loss, suggested the inscription which 
they placed over the doorway of their little home. 
This is it as it reads : 

"The Lord giveth, the Lord taketh away. Blessed 
be the name of the Lord. Constructed 1606." 

In a few years the tide of fortune changed with him 
and swept him over into more comfortable circum- 
stances, so that he was enabled to move to London, 
which gave him an opportunity to educate his large 
family. He had eight sons and nine daughters. Two 
of his sons emigrated to Virginia, U. S. A., in 1657. 
Their names were John and Lawrence. From the 
former descended George Washington, whose mem- 
ory is dear to every true American. 

The next point of interest was the St. Mary's Parish 
Church at Great Brington. It was built in 1019. 
The present arch was erected in 1422. When we 
came to the church we found the janitress removing 
the decorations used at their autumnal service. On 
coming to the chancel we saw a floor stone with coat 
of arms. On the stone was the name of Lawrence 
Washington, with date 161 6, and also the name of 
Margaret (Butler) his wife. There was also a slab 
with the name of Robert Washington, his younger 
brother, and of his wife, Elizabeth, with date 1622. 
The janitress was removing the decorations from the 



238 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

scone bearing the name of Lawrence Washington and, 
learning I was from America, said to me : 

"Would you like to have some of these decorations 
from the tomb of one of the ancestors of your first 
President?" 

Like every other American, I possess relic-picking 
propensities and accepted of the little bundle of wheat 
and carried it across to Yankee Land with me. Some 
of my English friends said that we Yankees would 
carry away nearly all England if it was possible. We 
spent some time in this interesting old church, then 
drove along a fine road to the very old town of Moul- 
ton, in which is the Carey Memorial Church. It is 
built on the site of one of whom William Carey was 
the founder. In this little church is a tablet in mem- 
ory of this good man. He was born in Sunderland, 
and one of my friends, who was born in the same town, 
said that "Carey was a shoemaker by trade, but was 
not considered very skillful." He soon discovered 
that was not his calling, and went out into the world 
to induce men to get shod with the "preparation of the 
Gospel," and proved to be a grand success. He was 
the pastor of the church at Moulton for four years, af- 
terwards became the evangelist to India and professor 
of Sancrist in the college of Fort William. He was 
also the father of modern missions. He died at Ser- 
ampore, June 9, 1832. The day was thoroughly en- 
joyed with these friends in visiting these two inter- 
esting old towns. 

My friend Mr. J — , one of the gentlemen I met at 
the Exeter Hall in London, where was held the 
world's convention of the Young Men's Christian As- 
sociation in 1894, invited me to pay him a visit at his 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 239 

home in Northampton on my return from Ireland. 
On doing so I found Northampton one sea of flags, 
and many of the buildings gaily decorated. On in- 
quiry I learned it was opening day of the Northamp- 
tonshire Agricultural Fair. The streets of the old 
town were crowded with people making their way out 
to the grounds. My friend not being able to leave his 
business, I sallied forth alone to see the show. 
Shortly after entering, the mayor, attired in his official 
robes, accompanied by several members of the town 
council, came into the grounds, headed by a brass 
band and formally opened the fair. There was a very 
fine display of stock in which I became intensely in- 
terested. There were several cows of extraordinary 
size, the like of which I have not seen in America. 
The agents in great numbers were there advertising 
their latest improved farming implements and var- 
ious other articles that attracted the attention of the 
people. Uncle "Jepthe" and Aunt "J erusn " and the 
•children were in from the old farm seeing the sights. 
While there were no peanut venders for the people to 
patronize, yet there were other tempting articles that 
•drew the coppers from their purses. It seemed quite 
similar to the agricultural fairs which I have attended 
in America. In the evening many of the buildings 
were beautifully illuminated. JefTry & Co.'s large 
furniture stores were finely decorated and the illumin- 
ations attracted the attention of the immense crowds 
on the streets. 



240 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 



CHAPTER XXXIII. 

BEDFORD. 

WHEN a small boy, I took great pleasure in 
reading that wonderful book, entitled "Pil- 
grim's Progress," written by John Bunyan, 
whose home at one time was in Bedford. It was a com- 
paratively short ride from Northampton. On my ar- 
rival I called at the little Y. M. C. A. to get some in- 
formation about this interesting old place. A young 
man of whom I asked some information, said to me: 

"I have a little leisure time and, if you like, will ac- 
company you out to Elstow, which is something over 
a mile from Bedford." 

I promptly accepted his offer and we were soon 
making our way through the quaint old streets along 
which this good man once traveled. We crossed the 
bridge spanning the River Ouse, a narrow stream that 
winds its way out through a very pretty section of the 
country. A short walk brought us to the very an- 
cient village of Elstow. "Here is Bunyan's house," 
said the young man, as we stopped in front of a small 
cottage. We were met at the door by the attendant 
who took great pleasure in showing us through, and 
as she did so, said : 

"This is the house to which John Bunyan brought 
his young bride and where he lived during his early 
married life," and pointed to where once stood his 
blacksmith shop. She was not forgetful to call our 
attention to a number of souvenirs for sale in the little 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 241 

room, with the ceiling of which my head came in close 
touch. From this old house we went to the church- 
yard which surrounds the very old church in which 
Bunyan was baptized when an infant, and in which 
Christopher Hall preached the sermon which was the 
means of his conversion. While reading some of the 
quaint epitaphs on the old moss-covered tombs, two 
men came into the yard. The young man said, on 
seeing them : 

"The younger of those two men was in America 
some time ago lecturing on 'The life of Bunyan.' " 

When the lowering clouds began to shake down on 
us great sheets of water, we all took refuge in the 
doorway of the old bell tower. 

"This young man tells me you have been to Amer- 
ica?" I remarked to the younger man. 

"Oh, yes, I was over there several months," he re- 
plied. In further conversation, learning that he had 
lectured in the Y. M. C. A. of my own city and was ac- 
quaintd with a number of my friends, I felt as though 
I was meeting some one from home. 

After the storm abated, he secured the keys of the 
church and showed us through. We greatly admired 
the beautifully stained glass windows representing 
some of the Bible scenes and characters. There was 
a small door in the rear of the church which, he said, 
in former years was opened daily for those who wished 
to come to the church for worship and it was consid- 
ered an evidence that a person was deeply in earnest 
when they entered the church. "This little door," he 
said, "is supposed to have suggested to the mind of 
Bunyan the wicket gate mentioned in his Pilgrim's 
Progress." 

16 



242 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

On coming from the church we climbed the stair- 
way of the old bell tower, which is close beside the 
church. We stood on the spot where Bunyan, when 
a boy, rang those old bells. There were several old 
relics in the tower, among them being the altar rail in 
front of which Bunyan's father and mother were mar- 
ried in 1627. From here we visited a long, nar- 
row, two-story, brick building. In this old build- 
ing John Bunyan danced with the village lassies, 
previous to loosing his desire for worldly amusement. 
While many fail to see the harm in shaking their feet, 
yet Bunyan found he would have to keep his quiet in 
order to keep healthy spiritually. I remarked to an 
old colored woman one day that every time I heard 
music it ran down into my feet. 

"Do you know the reason?" she said. "Your feet 
have never been healed yet." The old woman con- 
cluded that I did not have sufficient grace to control 
them, but that has been long ago, since that con- 
versation with the old unbleached sister. Bunyan af- 
terward preached in the old building. The gentleman 
who had lectured in America is Mr. Poynter, su- 
perintendent of the Sabbath school, held in the 
building. It stands on the green on which Mr. 
Bunyan played when a boy. Mr. Poyntaer showed 
us the old beaten path that led to the house in 
which John was born. We walked back to Bedford 
with Mr. Poynter and the old gentleman in company 
with him, whom we learned was an artist and at one 
time a celebrated cartoonist in London. We visited 
the Bunyan Memorial Church in which were a number 
of relics which belonged to this wonderful man, among 
them being his chair and the old prison grate door 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 243 

that barred him from his liberty. As I looked at this 
relic, fancied I could see Bunyan in the gloomy old 
prison wielding his pen in writing a book that, barring 
the Holy Bible, has benefitted the world along relig- 
ious lines more than any ever written. 

In passing along Cuthbert street, he stopped in 
front of a house. This is built on the site where stood 
Bunyan' s house in which he wrote a part of his won- 
derful book, and which he left in 1688 never to return. 
Bunyan is buried in Bunhill Fields Cemetery in Lon- 
don. We were also shown the site where stood the 
building in which he was tried and also the loca- 
tion of the old prison. On the green was a large 
bronzed statue of Bunyan. On this green John Wes- 
ley preached and not far away is the old church in 
which Wesley preached his wonderful sermon on the 
Great Assize. Mr. Poynter proved to be a very valu- 
able friend, as also did the young man who< accom- 
panied me to Elstow. 

Sitting beside me in the compartment on returning 
to Northampton, was a very bright, intelligent young 
lady. I took the liberty to ask her a question about 
a town we had just passed. She kindly gave me the in- 
formation and, on learning I was an American, said : 

"You Yankees are making a great account of 
Dewey. Why, I think Hobson deserves more praise 
than Dewey." 

I smiled and said : "The most of the American 
young ladies are of the same opinion. Many of them 
have demonstrated in a very striking manner their 
appreciation of the valuable service he rendered his 
country." She was greatly amused, and in reply said : 

"Yes, I have read of how some of the young women 



244 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

have treated him." I thought in all probability she 
would have treated him in like manner. As she con- 
tinued her conversation she informed me she had just 
been to see her brother, a lad sixteen years old, who 
had enlisted in the Queen's army. 

"Mother is heart-broken about the boy, but he is 
self-willed and it may have a tendency to tame him." 

STRATFORD-ON-AVON. 

It was a very enjoyable ride from Birmingham 
through a very picturesque part of the country to this 
old fashioned town with its wide streets so neatly kept, 
and its many fine, old mansions. Hundreds of tour- 
ists visit this very interesting place, made so from the 
fact of Shakespeare, the great poet, being born here. 
When I climbed the stairway of the old house and 
looked into the little room where in the year 1564 he 
made his advent into this world, I thought how little 
they knew when he lifted up his wee voice and de- 
manded the attention of that household, that he would 
in a few years after drop from his pen beautiful poeti- 
cal thoughts that would be read and greatly admired 
by coming generations and that centuries after these 
wonderful productions were penned, men and women 
from all parts of the world would make pilgrimages to 
his humble birthplace and also to the home not far 
away where, in 1616, he died; then visit the Holy 
Trinity Church where, in the chancel beneath a plain 
flag stone, is deposited the dust of this great man. 
This old church stands on the banks of the beautiful 
River Avon. It is surrounded by a graveyard, con- 
taining many ancient tombs, some of them bearing 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 245 

very quaint epitaphs. One of them I copied, that if 
each of us would practice we would not find time for 
criticising our fellow-man. It reads as follows : 

And look at home; there is something to be done." 
"What faults you saw in me pray try to shun, 

The view from the church-yard is quite pretty. The 
river winding through the meadows, fringed with 
trees and shrubbery, made a very pleasing picture. 
The Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, a fine, large 
building standing on the opposite side of the river a 
short distance from the church, is quite an ornament 
to the old town. I took the well-beaten paths across 
the meadows to the old village of Shottlery, in which 
is the little, brick, thatched cottage once occupied by 
Ann Hathaway. In this old house Shakespeare and 
Ann Hathaway spent many pleasant hours while pass- 
ing through the happy days of courtship. If he was 
in the same frame of mind as are many of our Amer- 
ican young men while going through that experience, 
Ann had the pleasure quite often of sitting close be- 
side him on the old oaken bench which was standing 
beside the open fire place. Mrs. Baker, the former 
attendant, who was a descendant of Ann Hathaway, 
in showing me this old relic on my previous visit, said : 

"This is the bench on which Shakespeare and Ann 
sat in the days of their courtship." 

"Let me sit on it; I may get an inspiration," I re- 
marked. But she objected, thinking my huge Yan- 
kee frame would be too much of a tax on the old seat. 
In coming to the cottage I learned that Mrs. Baker, 
who had gone beyond her four score years, and who 



246 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

had spent most of her life in this cottage, had been 
carried to the old church-yard and laid to rest beside 
the friends of yore. The new attendant was busy in 
showing sections of a large party from London 
through this historic cottage. They were representa- 
tive people, judging from the grand style in which 
they came to Shottlery. 

In going back to Stratford I walked for some dis- 
tance along a beautiful road which led to the main 
road leading to the town. There was a very large 
tree by the roadside under which was a bench. I 
seated myself on it and drank in the beauty of the 
scenery all about me. Three little boys came over 
and took seats beside me, each of them having a bou- 
quet of wild flowers which they had gathered from the 
nearby fields in which they grew in abundance. 

"Well, boys, what are you going to do with your 
flowers?" I inquired. 

"Oh, take 'em home to mother," was the reply. 

"Are you good boys?" 

"I am, sir," said the one sitting next to me. 

"I'm good, sir, when I'm away from home, but I'm 
not good there," was the answer of the boy beside 
him. 

"That is just the place you should be good," I re- 
plied. 

"No, he's not good at home," said No. i, "for he 
says T shant do it' to his mother and when she goes 
to hit him he runs," and added: "He's not good at 
school, either, for he copies his sums." 

This little bundle of mischief verified the statement 
of his comrade. No. 3 was non-committal. The lit- 
tle fellow who confessed to not being an angel at 




Norman Gateway, Evesham, England. 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 247 

home was, like many who have swept far beyond 
childhood, who are very careful to be on their good 
behavior when away from their domicile, but on reach- 
ing it lay aside their mask. Possibly we all have need 
of offering up the same prayer as did the colored min- 
ister whom I heard in one of the colored churches. It 
was as follows : 
"Oh, Lord, give us one face under one hat." 
The little boys walked into Stratford with me and 
kept their "wee" tongues moving briskly. Their 
conversation was both interesting and amusing. 
They were wonderfully bright lads who had not 
reached their eighth year. Upon coming to the out- 
skirts of the town we met what to me was a srange 
funeral cortege. There were two young women with 
a small coffin which they were carrying by two pieces 
of heavy white ribbon and following them was a 
young man and woman with very sad faces who, I 
judged, were the parents of the "wee" child which was 
being borne to the beautiful little cemetery we had 
just passed. In speaking to a friend about this odd 
little funeral procession, she said she had frequently 
acted as pall bearer and they always carried the coffin 
in that manner. 

On leaving this old town, went to South Littleton, 
which is fourteen miles distant. 

SOUTH LITTLETON. 

On stepping up to the "booking office" in Stratford 
to purchase my ticket, a young man in front of me, 
said to the agent : 

"I wish to book for Littleton and Badsey." 



248 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

At once I decided to get into the same compart- 
ment in which he did, and by so doing would not be 
"guessing and calculating"" where Littleton and 
Badsey station were. He was joined by a young wo- 
man and two small children which, I was not long in 
learning, were his wife and little responsibilities. On 
coming out of Littleton station to the road leading to 
the old village, which was about a mile distant, I 
asked him if he lived in South Littleton. 

"I do, sir," he replied. 

"Then I presume you are acquainted with Mr. Bub 
and his family?" 

"Yes, they are relatives of mine." And to my great 
surprise said: "This is Mr. Butler, is it not?" 

"Well, that surely is my name but how you came to 
know it, is more than I can understand." 

"We knew you when you came into' the station at 
Stratford. We remembered you being in our old vil- 
lage a few years ago," he replied. 

He proved to be one of the lads whom I met on my 
former visit whp had swept over into manhood and 
had assumed the cares of a family. 

On calling at the store of Mr. Bub, who had en- 
gaged lodgings for me, was informed by him that I 
was to occupy quarters in the same house in which I 
formerly lodged. 

"You will not find them at home; they are at the 
Village Tea at North Littleton. Nearly all the folk 
in the village are there, and I am going after closing 
the store and would like you to accompany me, which 
will give you an opportunity of seeing many of your 
old friends," he remarked. 

A Village Tea was something new to me and I was 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 249 

curious to know how they were conducted. It was a 
pleasant walk of a little over a mile to the grounds. 
The strains of the village band greeted our ears when 
we were some distance away, and on our arrival found 
the musicians perched up in an old fashioned wagon. 
They were playing a very lively air which had found 
its way down into the feet of some of the lads and las- 
sies who were bounding about very briskly. It was 
not long before I understood that a "Village Tea" was 
similar to an American picnic. Many of the crowd 
were patronizing the lemonade vender and the merry- 
go-round and swings and various other amusements 
in which our Yankee lads and lassies take pleasure. 
The young men were promenading with their "best 
girls," evidently doing their best to give them a pleas- 
ant time. There was an abundance of baby carriages, 
containing one or more little bundles of humanity 
which some of the weary looking mothers were trying 
to quiet, while the father, I presume, was mingling 
with the crowd, enjoying the "Village Tea." It is 
frequently seen on that wise in America. 

"This is our 'Ji m / " sa id my friend, as a fine look- 
ing fellow, about one and twenty, came up to us. It 
did not seem possible that he was the same lad I first 
met as a school boy. 

After greeting me cordially, he said : "One of my 
friends and myself have arranged to go back with you 
to America." 

"Well," I replied, "there is room for lads like you in 
that great country." 

A few days after that conversation I called at his 
home and found his father and mother greatly exer- 
cised about the proposed trip to America. "He's the 



250 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

only boy we have at home and I should fret myself to 
death to have him go so far away," said his mother. 

"I thought it was talk with the boy," remarked the 
father. "We cannot get along without the lad. I 
shall soon have to depend on him to manage the little 
farm." 

"Jim's" face lengthened out until I thought it would 
not soon get back to its normal state. But this young 
fellow had too much love and respect for his parents 
to sail away from Old England against their wishes. 

It was nearly 10 o'clock when we left the grounds 
and it was just beginning to grow dark. Those who 
go out for a day's pleasure in that country have the 
benefit of a long day. The old house in which I was 
to lodge seemed quite familiar as I stepped into the 
quaint room with its flag-stone floor and open fire 
place. There had been some changes in the family 
circle. The head of the house had been carried to the 
old church-yard on the opposite side of the old fash- 
ioned street, and the widow had given up the home to 
the lad whom I had seen casting love glances at the 
lass as she moved about the old kitchen. He was now 
giving his attention to a "wee girl" and a boy that 
was a still later edition, and I learned that several of 
the young folks that gathered in that old house, like 
their friends, Ralph and Bridget, had taken advantage 
of an early opportunity of avoiding becoming lonely 
bachelors and "overlooked sisters." When the eight- 
day clock, which they informed me had stood in the 
same position for more than sixty years, rang out the 
hour of eleven I bade them good night and climbed 
the old stairway which had been pressed by the weary 
feet of occupants of that house for nearly 200 years. 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 251 

The next morning, on coming to the door of a house 
in which lived a very old lady, I said : 

"Aunty, you should have had this door raised higher 
for tall lads." 

"You did not tell me you were coming; now you 
will have to bend a bit," she replied in broad English. 
After giving her some account of her only surviving 
brother living in America, to which she listened with 
rapt attention, she said : 

"The Lord has taken good care of us. Why, I have 
an independent living. I get a half crown a week." 

"Aunty, that is not sufficient for your needs." 

"No," she replied, "but I get on my knees every 
morning and ask God to supply what it fails to meet, 
and He is true to His promise. I'm just as happy as 
I can be. When I go to bed, I don't know whether or 
not I will get up in the morning, but I'm content 
whether I awake here or in heaven." Then she 
added: "When one gets beyond eighty years old 
there's not much time left for them." 

She was as young in spirit as a girl. "What have 
you in your bucket?" I asked her as she was passing 
along the street one morning. 

"Oh, nothin' bad ; I never carry anything but what's 
good," was her reply. 

"You should stay to our next village tea, which 
takes place in a fortnight," she said, and added : "I ex- 
pect to be there. Old Farmer B — met me to-day 
and wanted to engage me to dance with him, but I 
told him I didn't know the step. He said he'd teach 
me. He's always wanting ( to have a bit of fun with 
me." 

When I bade her adieu, she said : "When you come 



252 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

back to the, old village again you will find me gone 
from this little old house to the better home above." 

On Sunday I attended service at the neat little 
chapel recently .erected, and greatly enjoyed the day 
spent with those plain country folk in that little village 
in the Midlands. I spent one day at Evesham, which 
is four miles distant. The River Avon divides this old 
town, along the banks of which are some fine resi- 
dences. There are also many very old buildings and 
several ancient churches. In -one of the old church- 
yards I copied the following epitaphs : 

"Here lies an unworthy member of the Church of 
England as. established by law." 

"Reader, who e'er thou art, inquire not; 
To whom related, 'by whom begot. 
A heap of dust is all remains of me, 
'Tis all I am and all that you must be. 
Upon this stone expect no fulsome stuff; 
To say the least of me, I've been bad enough; 
Christ is my only hope, my sins to fi ee 4 
He died for sinners, therefore died for me." 

The following was on the tombstone of an old black- 
smith who died at the beginning of the nineteenth 
century : 

"My sledge and hammer lie reclined, 

My bellows too have lost their wind, 

My fires extinguished forge decayed; 

And in the dust my vise is laid; 

My coal is spent, my iron gone, 

My last nail driven, my work is done." 
"An angel's arm could not snatch me from the grave, 

Legions of angels can't confine me there." 
"A plain, rough man but without guile or pride, 

Goodness his aim and honesty his guide. 

Could all the pomp of this vain world despise, 

And only after death desire to rise." 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 253 

OXFORD, 

On learning that Oxford was 1 on the direct line from 
Littleton to London, I decided to break my journey 
and spend a few hours in this historic old' town. Com- 
ing out of the station, I was hailed by two boys who 
wished to know if I had any luggage I wanted carried. 
"Only myself," I replied. "Do you think you would 
like to take the contract?" One of them looked up 
into my face and' said : 

"We'll take you, sir, on a barrow, but it will be in 
sections." ) 

When I found myself in the presence of two up-to- 
date boys, I at once cut' off the thread of conversation. 

On coming out into the city I found it was one of 
the finest little cities I had visited. Some of its streets 
are quite broad and contain many beautiful residences. 
Oxford, as a seat of learning, dates from Alfred the 
Great who, according to tradition, founded University 
College in 872, but historically it dates form 1280. 
All along on either side of some of the streets are 
many old time-worn looking colleges, among them 
being Balliol College, founded by John Ballilol and 
his wife in 1268. They were the parents of John Bal- 
lilol, King of Scotland. The Oriel College, founded 
in 1326, is where Matthew Arnold, Kible, Newman, 
Pusey and Wilberforce were students. 

In strolling out to the Christ Church meadows I 
came to a beautiful avenue called the Broad Walk. 
On either side of it were large elms which formed a 
perfect arch. Near by is the Christ Church College, 
founded by Cardinal Woolsey in 1525. The meadow 
buildings are quite modern, having been built in 1862. 



254 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

The Christ Church Cathedral was built on the site of 
a religious house founded by St. Frideswide in the 
early part of the eighth century. The main part of 
the present building was completed about 1180 and 
the massive columns and arches are in a fair state of 
preservation. 

After looking about this old edifice I visited the 
Lincoln College, founded by Bishop Fleming, of Lin- 
coln, in 1427. In the old dining hall were portraits of 
some of the faculty of the days of yore. John and 
Charles Wesley were students here. John's portrait 
hangs in some of the rooms in which were held the 
meetings of the so-called "Holy Club." John became 
the leader of one of the great ' Oxford movements. 
When he left that old college he not only had his head 
packed with useful knowledge, but also had his heart 
filled with divine grace and proved' a great power for 
good. 

Methodism, of which he was the founder, has, un- 
der the guidance of the Triune God, found its way 
into nearly every dark corner of the world. As I 
walked through those old halls, I thought how many 
young men had spent long, weary hours in study and 
had gone out into the world — some to proclaim the 
old Gospel, others to untangle unfortunate ones from 
the meshes of the law, while others had become leaders 
in the political world, among the number being the 
late Hon. W. E. Gladstone. 

"Give me a light lunch please?" I said to a woman at 
a restaurant near one of the colleges. She filled the 
order nicely so far as the lightness was concerned. 
While the lunch was very light, the bill was quite 
heavy. On examining my change I said to her: 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 255 

"Haven't you made a mistake? You only gave me 
a small plate of tongue." 

"Oh, no, sir; it was a large plate." One could not 
quite imagine what a small plate would have been. 
My impression was that I had better not stop to argue 
the case with her, for she had the appearance of being 
a woman that would give me more tongue than I 
could manage. 

"Polish yer boots, sir?" said a cross-eyed boy, as 
he left a crowd of boys sitting beside a high board 
fence and ran up to me. 

"Do you think you have material enough to finish 
the job?" I asked, as I called attention to the quantity 
of leather of which my boots were made. 

"I 'ave; come hover to the box, sir," he replied. 
The group of boys seemed to be interested in the con- 
tract which he had taken. As I rested my foot on the 
rude little box, and he began to briskly wield the 
brush, one of the boys shouted : 

"Eh, Bill, mind where your knockin'." 

"Yes," I remarked, "handle me carefully, for there 
is a monument on many of my toes and if you strike 
out in that style you will not only knock the corn off, 
but also the toes." 

He looked up on the bias and said : 

"Eh, if I do, I will take ye hover to yon chemist 
shop and get them stuck on again." Then he swung 
his brush even more vigorously. When he had fin- 
ished, I said to him : 

"How much for a job like that?" 

"Twopence, sir," he replied. The boys were hav- 
ing lots of fun with "Bill" and the Yankee. 

In passing along Broad street, I came to the 



256 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

Martyrs' Memorial Cross. It is a fine monument, 
erected in memory of the three martyrs — Thomas 
Cranmer, Nicholas Ridley and Huge Latimar, Pre- 
lates of the Church of England, who were burned at 
the stake near this pot for principles which they be- 
lieved to be right. In the alcoves in the monument 
are three statues, one of them representing Cranmer 
holding his Bible, bearing the date of 1541, it being 
the first year of the circulation of the Bible by royal 
authority. The attitude of Ridley represented the 
steadfastness with which he fought the good fight of 
faith. Latimer was represented with his arms folded 
across his breast and bending under the weight of his 
four score years, the image of submission to the will 
of God. 

There were many points of interest I desired to 
visit, but was compelled to resume my journey to Lon- 
don, which was about sixty miles. 

ON THE JOURNEY TO LONDON. 

In the compartment near me were two young men 
who, by their conversation, I soon learned had just re- 
turned from America. "So you have been living in 
that great country across the Atlantic?" I remarked. 

"Yes," one of them said, "we went over there a 
few years ago to seek our fortune, but failed to find it. 
Now, after spending a few weeks with our parents in 
Evesham, we are going to Australia. We understand 
it is not so over-crowded as America." 

"How did you like the country?" I asked. 

"Oh, America is a grand country, and we would 
like to have remained." 



r " A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 257 

"I have been living in Ireland for about a year, and 
am pleased with that beautiful country," I remarked. 
A very loquacious man sitting opposite, said to me : 

"So you have been to that country where they tell 
people are going to H— , and they all believe it?" 

"Oh, one does not have to be told which way he is 
going; he generally has some idea," I replied. He 
spread himself out and, casting his eyes about to those 
in the compartment, said, sarcastically : 

"You don't mean to say that you believe in such a 
place?" At once I saw he meant to hold me up in 
ridicule before the passengers, so I set about to side- 
track this overly-wise fellow. 

"I have had a foretaste of H — by wrong doing, and 
of Heaven by trying to behave properly, and believe 
in what the old Bible says in reference to it,"I said. 

"Oh, I never read that Book," he replied, giving his 
head a toss. 

"So much to your shame. If you have never in- 
vestigated that old Book, you have no right to criti- 
cise it," I remarked. 

"Well, I suppose not," he said, in a more subdued 
tone of voice. 

"Very early in life I found there was such a thing 
as sin, and wanted to know if there was a remedy. 
Nature could not answer the question, but the old 
Book did, and all the infidels living could not convince 
me to the contrary." 

"Do you think I am an infidel?" 

"No, sir, I have seen men like you before, and they 
have called for help when they came down to the Jor- 
dan of death, and you, will do the. same/* 

*7. 



*58 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. j • ' 

"Well, I have been pretty well down toward it, and 
did not call for assistance. 

"You were not conscious of being near the danger 
line, or you would have done so." 

"I'm trying to live a good life," he remarked. 

"I heard you use language that did not indicate you 
were making much of an effort." 

"I never swear before my wife." 

"Well, possibly you dare not." -| 

"Oh, she is not that kind of a woman." 

"Possibly not," I remarked, and added: "There 
was a man living in America who was using profane 
language one day and some one tried to quiet him by 
telling him the clergyman was coming. He said : 'If 
I'm not ashamed to swear in the presence of the Al- 
mighty, I'm not in the presence of the clergyman.' " 
He took the application, but quickly rallied and said : 

"I don't take any stock in clergymen. My wife is 
a member of the High Church, and one of the rectors 
came one day and requested her to come to confes- 
sion. If I had been at home I should have kicked him 
out of the house." 

"Because you think he did not properly represent 
the Gospel, do you think you are wise in condemning 
the whole system?" 

"Well, no; I don't suppose I am." 

"A Gospel that lifts up men and makes them better, 
should be at least commended by every good thinking 
man," I remarked, and added : "Surely you could have 
no objection to it?" 

"Well, no; I can't say that I have." 

Our conversation seemed to interest as well as 
gmuse tl)ose in the compartment Qn pur arrival ix\ 



*-.,». A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 259 

London, a gentleman who had listened to our conver- 
sation said to me : 

"I quite enjoyed your argument with that very wise 
man. I think you about convinced him of the error 
of his way." 

"We thought he was going to get the best of you 
at first," said the young man who had been to Amer- 
ica, 

"Oh, I had no fear of that, lad. I always have a 
bundle of facts to pass out to men of his stripe," I re- 
plied. "You have heard or seen the catfish that are 
found in American waters?" I further remarked, "and 
if you do not handle them properly you will get badly 
finned. I saw at a glance the old lad had his fins out 
and took hold of him carefully." 

CANTERBURY. 

We left London from Charing Cross station for the 
historic old city of Canterbury. We passed through 
a very pretty section of the country and through sev- 
eral villages and towns, Ashford, in Kent, being the 
largest. Sometimes our view was hidden as the train 
dashed through the many tunnels on this line. One 
of them was of great length and I wondered when we 
would again see daylight. 

"My word, I dread going through these tunnels," 
said an old lady sitting in front of me. 

"Well, I don't feel so comfortable with all those 
rocks and so much mother earth above me." 

"Well, thank godness, this is the last one we pass 
through." 

"How many station! before reachjng Canterbury?" 
I inquired pf her, T os 



260 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

"Oh, sir, we have several yet," she replied. 

"One has to be on the alert when traveling in a 
compartment train or he will find himself beyond his 
destination," I remarked. 

"You are from America, I see." 

"Yes," I replied. 

"Well, that must be a wonderful country. My 
daughter married a short time ago and has gone there 
to reside. When she writes she usually gives me 
some description of it. She is anxious to have me 
come over, but it is too much of an undertaking for 
one so old," she remarked. "I understand," she 
added, "that your railway trains are much more con- 
venient than ours." 

"Yes," I replied, "we have an aisle through the 
centre of our cars, with seats on either side, holding 
two persons. The conductor comes through the cars 
and collects the tickets. The stations are called from 
each end of the car by the conductor and brakeman." 

"That is far better than our system." 

On coming out of the station, a boy standing beside 
an omnibus said to me : 

"Ride up, sir? Take you to any part of the town." 

"Do you think you can pack me away in that small 
vehicle?" I inquired. 

"I'll try, sir." I folded myself up and entered this 
little band box on wheels and had to sit with bowed 
head to avoid a collision between my derby hat and 
the top of the 'bus. In order not to infringe on the 
space allotted to my fellow passenger sitting opposite, 
I had to sit on the bias. 

"What is your schedule time?" I inquired of the 
boy, after awaiting some time. 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 261 

"Oh, we leave as soon as the other train arrives, 
sir." On its arrival, a woman with several bundles 
crowded into the small space beside me. I soon 
found I should have to put myself into a smaller com- 
pass in order that this old sister might square herself 
away comfortably. It was a short ride to the home 
of my friends, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, whom I first met 
on the voyage back to America on my former trip. 
Then they were a bride and groom of a week and 
were enroute for one of the states in the far West to 
make a home for themselves. Through my invita- 
tion they remained in our city for a few days previous 
to starting on their long journey and, during their 
brief stay with us, by their pleasant and genial man- 
ner, made several warm friends. Fortune failed to 
smile on them in their western home and they finally 
returned to our city, and in a few months afterward 
sailed for their old home in Canterbury. I accepted 
of their kind invitation to spend a few days with them 
in their cosy home. They introduced me to many of 
their friends, whom I found to be excellent people. 

One afternoon we attended a strawberry tea given 
by the ladies connected with the Wesleyan Church. 
It was held in the apple orchard of an old farm on a 
hill overlooking Canterbury. We had a splendid 
view of the surrounding country, and also of the city 
nestled down in a beautiful valley. The old cathedral 
towering above the other buildings, added to the 
beauty of the picture of the old town, which was about 
a mile distant. There were quite a nice little company 
gathered around the tables, on which were an abund- 
ance of berries and other tempting articles of food that 
make up a strawberry tea. After a good social time 



2&s A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

at the tables, the company adjourned to the Wesleyan 
College grounds which were near by. Many of the 
people engaged in games of various kinds. Some 
of us became very much interested in the young stu- 
dents with whom we engaged in conversation. One 
of them informed us he was the son of a missionary 
and was born in India, and two others said they were 
born in Japan. Another very bright, intelligent boy 
said he was also the son of a missionary and was born 
in New Zealand. 

"After mother died," he said, "my aunt brought me 
to England by way of America. My word, but I 
thought America was a large country after traveling 
from San Francisco to New York, where we took the 
steamer for Liverpool." 

"There is a boy who was born in Spain," said a boy, 
as he saw the lad approaching our little group. "I 
was telling the folks that you were born in Spain." 

"Yes, but father and mother were natives of Eng- 
land," he said in broken English. 

"Did you live in Spain during her trouble with 
America?" 

"Yes, I lived in Cadiz, and there was great excite- 
ment when they heard the Yankee hogs were coming 
over, and they were getting ready for them." 

"Yes, son, they were getting ready to run," I re- 
marked. 

"My uncle was in the war," he said. I soon found 
the lad's sympathy was with Spain. 

The pleasant afternoon and evening will not soon 
be forgotten that I spent with those English friends 
at the strawberry tea on the old farm. 

There is a little village over the hills about two 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 263 

miles from Canterbury where I frequently went with 
my friends to visit the home of a fine, old couple. My 
friends styled them "father and mother," and I soon 
found myself addressing them in the same familiar 
way. They always swung their door open wide and 
gave us a cordial welcome. 

Canterbury is a very interesting city. The foun- 
dation is said to be before that of Rome and, from the 
remains which have been found, it was of considerable 
importance in the early time of the Romans. It has 
at various times suffered by fire and sword. In 754 
the city was greatly damaged by fire. It was again 
partly destroyed in 776. It was captured by the 
Danes, and in 918 Aelfleda beseiged and burned the 
city, killing and expelling the piratical hordes who 
then held it. In ion the Danes again beseiged and 
captured it, and of the 8,000 inhabitants only four 
monks and 800 citizens escaped with their lives. This 
old city has a population of 20,000 and is situated on 
the High Road between London and Dover, fifty-six 
miles from the former place and sixteen miles from the 
latter. The River Stour, a very narrow, shallow 
stream, divides the city and then winds its way 
through the valley, on out to the sea, which is only a 
comparatively short distance away. Canterbury was 
once a walled city and until about the latter part of the 
eighteenth century remained as it did centuries ago. 
There were originally six gates. The West gate is 
the only one remaining. It stands in the centre of 
one of the main streets. On either side of the gate are 
two round towers, with a stone passage-way leading 
from one tower to the other. These towers were 
once used for prisons, but now the lower part is only 



264 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

used as a police station. The streets are very narrow 
and many of the buildings and houses are small and 
very ancient looking, quite as much so as many I saw 
in the old walled cities of York and Chester. In the 
evenings these thoroughfares are so crowded with pe- 
destrians that many are compelled to take the centre 
of the streets. The Queen's lads were quite conspic- 
uous with their gay uniforms, which seemed to attract 
the eye of the lassies, judging from the great number 
I saw holding on to the arms of these soldier lads. 

In conversation with one of the Lancers on the 
street one evening, he informed me he had served his 
country for thirteen years. "My time is out now, but 
on the account of the war in South Africa, the govern- 
ment can hold me another twelve months, but when 
I once get out of it, you will never again catch me 
donning the Queen's uniform." 

Our attention was attracted by a man and woman 
going along the street with a heavy cargo of strong 
drink. "That is a sad picture," I remarked. 

"Yes, that is goin' a bit too far. I take a drink 
sometimes, and usually celebrate my birthday by hav- 
ing a good spree," he replied. 

"You are a young man yet," I said, "and if you con- 
tinue to celebrate your birthday in that way, possibly 
you will not pass very many more before you will be 
wishing you never had one. I have known lots of lads 
to have had that bitter experience." 

"Oh, you are a teetotaller, I see," and agreed with 
me it was the only safe way, but during our conversa- 
tion seemed to forget what my principles were and in- 
vited me to take a drink, and apologized when he re- 
called our previous talk on that line. My little tern- 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 265 

perance lecture,I thought, had not taken very deep 
root. 

"I have been waiting here some time for my sweet- 
heart. She generally meets me here about this time," 
he said, and added : "As soon as I am through with 
army life I think I will tie up." 

"A very wise thing for a young man to do, if he is 
fixed for it financially and gets the proper mate," I 
remarked. 

"Here she comes, now," he said, as a neat, trim, 
little lass came jostling through the crowd, casting her 
eyes about, looking, I presume, for this lad. He ex- 
cused himself and said as he was leaving : "I am glad 
to have had the talk with you. I will try and profit 
by it," and then joined the lass and the two were soon 
lost to sight in the crowd. 

Many of the soldiers seemed to patronize the pub- 
lic houses, which are numerous. Canterbury is noted 
for its many churches and public houses. The latter 
seemed to have the largest following. There is a 
very large military barracks on the outskirts of the 
city in which were quartered several hundred soldiers. 
A gentleman in Belfast requested me to call at the bar- 
racks and make inquiry about a young lad formerly 
quartered there. On my way out I overtook one of 
the sergeants who, after giving me the desired infor- 
mation, engaged in conversation about his army life, 
in which I became very much interested. 

"I joined the army as a teetotaller," he said, "and 
found it rather difficult to hold on to my principles 
amid the persecution I received, but I managed to 
stand firm." 

"How do you find it now?" I inquired. 



266 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

"Oh, there is a decided change for the better. 
While you may see many of the boys in the public 
houses, yet there are a great many of them who are 
teetotallers, and the number is steadily increasing," 
and then he added: "A few years ago we were sent 
to a very malarial district in India and my comrades 
said I would be certain to get the fever and die if I 
did not use spirits ; but I did not take any and was the 
only one that escaped the fever, as I took good care of 
myself. After they recovered I asked them what 
their opinion was of total abstinence. 'Comrade,' 
they said, 'it is a good thing.' " 

On going to the drill grounds I found the Lancers 
in the midst of their drill, which I watched with great 
interest. Their horses dashed across the drill grounds 
with great speed and the boys used their lances in a 
way that gave proof they were well drilled. One fel- 
low, in teaching his horse to jump the artificial hedge 
fence, was thrown violently to the ground and I con- 
cluded his soldier life was ended ; but to my surprise 
he sprang to his feet and mounted his animal and 
bounded away across the field and, on returning, the 
horse with the rider leaped over the fence with great 
ease. The raw recruits taxed me for sympathy. 
Some of them evidently were taking their first horse- 
back ride. They would slide from the animal's neck 
to his tail with their eyes protruding, looking as 
though they either expected a trip to the hospital or 
the cemetery. Some of the officers drilling the lads 
did not possess an abundance of patience, for many 
times they tied expressions to their commands that 
were decidedly emphatic, but far from being elegant. 

"What do you think of army life as far as you have 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 267 

gone?" I asked a young fellow who had just gone 
through the ordeal. 

"My word, if I was out of it they would have a great 
deal of trouble to again get me back." 

In looking through their quarters, I found them 
very neat and comfortable; their rations were suffi- 
cient to keep their bones well covered. There were 
a number of the lads drilling whom, I was informed, 
were going to the front in a few days. In conversa- 
tion with some of them after the drill I found them 
quite anxious to get to the scene of action. One fel- 
low in a Kahki suit, who had been wounded and had 
recently returned, said : "Boys, it means lots of hard- 
ships to go to the front. Nevertheless, I should like 
to go back." 

Several of the lads came out of the office, where 
they had just received their sentence for some misde- 
meanor. "What did you get?" one fellow inquired of 
a lad who was passing. 

"Oh, six days," he replied, in a way that indicated he 
had not taken it to heart. 

"Eh, Bill, what did they give you?" inquired an- 
other fellow. 

"Bill" said, "I only got three days," which meant 
being confined in the barracks and doing extra duty. 

In passing through the stabler I stopped and had a 
chat with some of the lads who were burnishing up 
their harness. One of them was an exceptionally 
bright, intelligent fellow. 

"My home is in New Zealand," he remarked, "but 
I had a desire to see the world and, not having the 
money to do it, took a position as stoker on a steam- 
ship and came over to England, and finally drifted to 



268 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

Sheffield and there fell into bad company and got to 
drinking ; but I soon found that would not do for me. 
I did not do that at home and concluded I ought to 
behave myself just as well when away, and made a 
change in my way of living," and added : "I enlisted a 
short time ago and so far am delighted with the life." 
This lad had a face that indicated that back of it was 
a strong character. 

The boys presented quite a fine sight on the drill 
grounds with their different flashy uniforms, especially 
those wearing red coats and black trousers, and the 
"cherry pickers," as they are styled. 

The hop gardens of Kent are worth a visit. There 
are a number of them in the vicinity of Canterbury, 
from which are gathered tons of this product. One 
day I walked out to one of these extensive gardens 
and watched the busy pickers for some time. One 
would think it was a family picnic. The old and 
young were there, and a great number of small car- 
riages containing the new arrivals which were being 
cared for by the young members of the family who 
were not large enough to assist in picking. It is quite 
a sight to see the immense crowds coming from the 
gardens. 

"Can I get some articles laundered?" I inquired of 
my friend, and after a fruitless effort, she said : 

"It would be impossible, for every one is 'oppen.' " 

One of the first places to which visitors find their 
way is the old Cathedral. It is a magnificent old edi- 
fice and gives proof that architects of centuries ago 
had excellent practical ideas. The principal entrance 
to the church-yard is through the arched gateway, 
erected in 1517. This cathedral contains several 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 269 

chapels. In one of them once stood the magnificent 
shrine of St. Thomas a Beckett. It is said to have 
been built of stone to the height of about six feet and 
upwards. From this stone base it was made of tim- 
ber, in which was a chest containing many relics be- 
longing to St. Thomas a Beckett. The timber on the 
outside was plated with gold and damasked with gold 
wire, which gold ground was again covered with gold 
and jewels. There is no trace of this shrine remain- 
ing, but the spot where it stood is worn down by the 
press of the knees of pilgrims who for three centuries 
came to this place to offer oblations and prayers. 
For the past few years Catholic pilgrims have made 
annual pilgrimages to the cathedral. They were ex- 
pecting the pilgrims a few days after my leaving the 
old town. I stood near the spot where St. Thomas 
a Beckett was cruelly murdered by four barons who 
came into the cathedral on the evening of December 
29, 1 1 70, armed with swords, and as the Archbishop 
and his attendants were ascending the stairway, one 
of the barons shouted, "Where is the traitor?" 

There was no reply. "Where is the Archbishop?" 
he then inquired. 

"Here I am?" said the Archbishop, "but here is no 
traitor. What do ye in the house of God with war- 
like weapons?" asked the Archbishop. 

Then the barons called to him to absolve the bishops 
and, on his refusing to do so, they slew him with their 
swords. One of them, it is said, kicked his prostrated 
body, saying : "So perisheth a traitor." 

One day in the cathedral I met a gentleman from 
Boston, Mass., and in company with him went to old 
St. Martin's Church, on the outskirts gf the city. 



270 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. ^1 

It is said to be the first place of worship used by the 
British after their conversion from heathenism. It 
stands on a slight elevation, surrounded by an old 
graveyard. When Bertha, the daughter of Chere- 
bert, king of Parasii, who was a Christian, married 
King Ethelbert, she requested him to allow her the 
free exercise of her religion, which he granted. When 
St. Augustine, accompanied by forty companions, 
came over on a mission to England in 596, they landed 
on the Isle of Thant. He sent a message to King 
Ethelbert, saying he had come from a distant coun- 
try to open the gates of Heaven for the king and his 
subjects. On receiving it, the king sent back a favor- 
able reply and appointed a place of meeting and when 
St. Augustine and his fellow-workers approached, 
bearing in front of them a silver cross and the portrait 
of Christ and chanting the litany, it made such a deep 
impression on the king that he listened with rapt at- 
tention to it and also the discourse given by St. Au- 
gustine. He was shortly after converted to Chris- 
tianity and his example had such a powerful influence 
over the pagan priest and his subjects that 10,000 of 
them followed their priest to baptism and embraced 
Christianity. The sexton, showing us through this 
old church, called our attention to a finely sculptured 
stone baptismal fount, about three feet high, which 
traditionally was the one used at the baptism of King 
Ethelbert. Near the fount was the trace of a door 
which the sexton said was opened during the baptisms 
to allow the bad spirit to pass out of the candidate. 
If they were like many that live in the present age, 
there was a procession of them that filed through the 
Uttle dopr, W§ W§ r§ shown a, sarcoph§p§ |hat, it fc 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 271 

said, contains the dust of Queen Bertha. In the wall 
in front of the church, near the door, was a square 
aperture called the "peep hole" for lepers. Through 
it they were allowed to watch the service, but com- 
pelled to leave before it closed. 

From this old historic church we walked out to the 
St. Nicholas Church and hospital at Harbledown, 
which is about a mile distant from the town. This 
hospital and church was founded by Archbishop Lau- 
f ranee in 1080 especially for lepers. The attendant, 
who was an old man. showed us a number of old relics. 
Some of them once belonged to St. Thomas a Beck- 
ett. There was an old oaken chest which the attend- 
ant said was 800 years old. There were pewter plates 
and cooking utensils once used by the lepers and many 
other old relics which dated back in the past. The 
old church, which stands on the opposite side, remains 
as it did centuries ago. One of the windows, which 
is 500 years old, is magnificent. It represents Eze- 
kiel's vision. The rude, straight back seats were said 
to be 600 years old. As we wandered through the 
old edifice I fancied I could see those poor, afflicted 
ones sitting on those old benches listening to the story 
of Him who, in the days of His flesh, spake words of 
comfort and cheer and also healed many who were 
afflicted in like manner. 

"How long since there were any cases of leprosy in 
the hospital?" we inquired. 

"Not since the early part of the seventeenth cen- 
tury, which tifne it disappeared from England," he re- 
plied. 

Qn returning froi# f^ere we stopped at the, glac^ 



272 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

Prince's well, a place to which he resorted. His 
tomb is in the old Canterbury Cathedral. 

FORDWICH. 

One day we took the train and went to Sturry, a 
distance of two miles, and walked to Fordwich, a short 
distance from the former place, through which flows 
the River Stour. It is a very ancient town ; some of 
the houses were several hundred years old. The 
most interesting place to me was the old town hall, 
which is 700 years old. The attendant, in taking us 
through the hall, pointed out to us some relics that 
were hundreds of years old. 

"Here is an old oaken chest," she said, "that was 
supposed to have been made in the ninth century." 
It was in a fair state of preservation. "This is the old 
court room," she remarked, as we came into a large 
room containing many other relics, among them 
being a table 800 years old, and a curfew drum and a 
charter bearing the date of 1660. There was also a 
list of names of the mayors of this once prosperous 
little town dating from 1292 to 1884. "This room," 
she remarked, "is as it was centuries ago." As I 
stood with my hand resting on the rail of the prison- 
ers' dock, imagined I could see the different charac- 
ters who had received their sentences from judges that 
sat on the old bench long years ago. But the wheel 
of time had carried both judges and prisoners out to 
the great beyond. "This is the ducking chair," she 
said, pointing to an odd-looking wooden chair with 
a foot rest. The chair resembled a swing for a small 
child. 

"What was that used for?" we aslced, 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 2ft 

"For scolding wives," she replied. The chair, she 
said, was attached to a crane standing on the wharf 
back of the hall. The unruly sister was strapped in 
the chair and swung out some distance and then 
dipped in the River Stour until they thought she had 
decided to control her tongue. Then she was taken 
out and placed in the "dripping loft" and left until her 
clothing dried. 

When I climbed up the stairway and looked into the 
little room where had sat many disturbers of the peace 
of the domicile, I fancied I could see them sitting there 
fortifying themselves for another attack on the head 
of the house. If there was a penalty now of that kind 
for scolding wives, those who gave the unruly sisters 
their bath would be kept busy. Many of them, 
though, have just cause for scolding. If the lads who 
use their tongues freely in abusing their wives and also 
who frequently treat them to a thrashing were treated 
to a dip in the ducking chair, they might possibly be 
cured of their pugilistic tendencies. The ducking 
chair was also used for those charged with witchcraft. 
The same kind of superstition once existed in Amer- 
ica. Many innocent people were charged with it and 
received a more severe penalty than the ducking chair. 
Any one reading the poem by Whittier, entitled "The 
Witch's Daughter," can form some idea of how far 
people carried their superstitious notions. 

A few years ago in visiting the Court House at Sa- 
lem, Mass., I saw a bottle containing pins with which, 
it was said, supposed witches perforated their vic- 
tims. There was also a death warrant for a woman 
charged with witchcraft, giving her name. It read as 
follows : "Shall be hanged by the neck until dead and 

18 



274 a Yankee bachelor abroad. 

buried," and, seeing the mistake, they had crossed off 
the word buried. America, as well as England, has 
arisen above superstition of that kind. 

On coming out to the wharf we were interested in 
looking at the crane to which the chair, until recently, 
was attached. It was removed and placed in the hall 
after some mischievous lads had placed one of their 
companions in it and, not knowing just how to ma- 
nipulate it, would have drowned the lad but for the 
timely assistance of some men who chanced to be 
passing. 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 275 



CHAPTER XXXIV. 

DOVER AND MARGATE, SEASIDE RESORTS. 

0OVER is a seaside resort about sixteen miles 
from Canterbury. It is beautifully situated 
in a valley, on either side of which are two im- 
mense hills that extend out to the sea front, forming 
great bluffs. On one of these great hills, near the 
brow of the white cliffs, is an old castle, now used as 
a military post, and is garrisoned by several hundred 
soldiers. Near the castle is a church called St. Mary's- 
in-the-Castle. It was once a Roman building and 
was converted into a church during the Roman's pos- 
session of Britian. From this point one gets a splen- 
did view of the town and surrounding country. In 
looking across the valley to the hill on the opposite 
side, I saw a detachment of soldiers making their way 
around the hill. As they climbed the winding, white, 
chalk road, dressed in their flashy red coats and black 
pants, and their guns glistening in the sunlight, they 
presented quite a fine picture. From this great hill 
of a clear day can be seen the faint outline of France 
on the opposite side of the English channel. This is 
the nearest point to France. There is a line of steam- 
ers plying between Dover and Calois. I was out on 
the long stone pier when one of the steamers landed. 
The old channel is like the Irish sea, easily disturbed, 
and she had treated the people badly. Some of them 
seemed to be about used up and were glad to again 
step on "terra firma." 



276 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

Before leaving the old castle, I looked in on the 
soldiers. They were partaking of a good, substantial 
meal. I said to one of the lads who was from the 
"Old Sod :" "You seem to be enjoying yourself." 

He said, as he sat in front of a huge plate of proven- 
der: "Sure, sir, this is how we stay in this old world, 
by keeping well filled." 

One of the lads, who was not yet out of his teens, 
informed me that his father and brother were serving 
in the Queen's army. "Mother is a bit worried," he 
said, "to have us all away, but some one must defend 
the rights of our good, old Queen." 

There is a beautiful park on the slope of the hill, at 
the entrance of which is an archway made of the jaw 
bones of a huge whale. The town has a fine sea front, 
along which are a number of large hotels. It is quite 
a busy little place. Its merchants seemed quite up 
to date and understood quite well how to gather in the 
shillings. A gentleman whom I asked for some in- 
formation, after giving it, spent some time in showing 
me the points of interest in the old town. He proved 
to be a very fine fellow. He gave his name as Trotall. 
I remarked to him it would be a very appropriate name 
for myself, as I kept my feet moving about quite 
briskly over various parts of the country. They were 
improving the harbor which, when finished, they said 
would be one of the finest in the world. The entire 
day was spent in looking about this fine old town. 
The ride back to Canterbury was a very enjoyable one. 

MARGATE. 

One fine morning we took the train from Canter- 
bury for this very old seaside resort, which was a com- 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 277 

paratively short ride. The train ran down to Rams- 
gate, which is smaller but a more fashionable resort. 
The view of it from the station gave us some little idea 
of the beauty of the town. A few minutes' ride 
brought us to Margate. Upon coming out of the 
station to the sea front we saw a group of people on 
the beach being entertained by an amateur troupe 
who were playing the death of Cock Robin. They 
were being assisted by a number of children which 
they had gathered from the crowd. They were 
marching around the circle, carrying dilapidated look- 
ing stuffed birds and chanting the funeral dirge. The 
audience semed to be delighted with the performance. 
We only tarried a short time at this point. It failed 
to interest us. I was of the same opinion as was the 
old colored woman who came into a business house 
one day where I was engaged. One of the clerks be- 
gan guying her. She gave him a very significant look 
and said : "Didn't you know I was too old to play with 
rag babies?" I, too, had swept far beyond the age to 
be amused with an entertainment of that kind. 

On the strand were a few bathing cars. They were 
not doing a very thriving business. Bathing did not 
seem to be quite as popular as in America. There 
was an absence of young people parading the beach, 
wearing very brief, flashy bathing suits, such as are 
seen at the American seaside resorts. We continued 
our walk along the sea front until we came to the 
pier which is 900 feet long. It was well filled with 
people, many of whom were listening to a brass band 
in the little pavilion playing some very fine airs. Most 
of the people were excursionists from London who 



278 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

had come down in the steamers which were lying at 
the pier. 

We noticed a man coming down toward the en- 
trance of the pier, looking around in a very excited 
manner. Presently he espied three boys coming leis- 
urely along. He hurried to them and said to one of 
the boys: 

"Where have you been? We have searched every- 
where for you," and finished his sentence by giving the 
boy a severe blow on the head. The other boys 
shyed off as if they expected to be treated in like man- 
ner. An old sailor who had witnessed the man ad- 
minister the blow, said : 

"Yo h'ought to be ashamed to hit a boy in that 
way." 

"What's that your business? The boy belongs to 
me," the man replied. 

"It matters not whether he's yours or not ; you hit 
him again, and I'll give you the same kind of a dose," 
said the sailor, getting himself in a fighting attitude. 

"Go on about your business. I'll do as I please 
with the lad." Just as they were getting up to the 
fighting point the steamer's whistle blew and the man 
and boys hurried away, the man getting the full ben- 
efit of the sailor's tongue. He dropped some sen- 
tences that were badly frayed out. The boy looked 
as though he would have enjoyed seeing the sailor 
neatly trim his father. 

The ride from London on one of these steamers is 
an enjoyable one of a pleasant day, but when caught in 
a storm, which they frequently are, it's a most distress- 
ing one, as the sea tosses those boats about like a cork. 
While we were on the pier there was a large steamer 



J A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 279 

touched at the pier, making her daily excursion trip 
to Bologne, France. 

Margate has a population of 20,000. The hotels 
and private houses are built of stone and the asphalt 
pavements give the town a very neat appearance. 
This is the principal seaside resort on the south coast. 
It is called London-by-the-Sea. There were crowds 
of the up-to-date lads and lassies promenading the 
fine walk along the sea front, evidently not listening 
to what the "sad sea waves were saying." In our 
walk through the town we came to a beautiful park, 
which was quite an ornament to the place. Some of 
the houses in one part of the town were very old. We 
left Margate well pleased with the day spent at an- 
other one of Old England's seaside resorts. 

The following are brief sketches of some towns vis- 
ited in England : 

NEW-CASTLE-UPON-TYNE. 

This is a manufacturing town with a population of 
175,000. It is a noted ship-building place. The 
town is built on three hills on the River Tyne, nine and 
one-half miles from its mouth. Some of the residen- 
tial portions of the city contain a number of splendid 
homes. It is a dingy city, made so by the great 
clouds of smoke that come from its many industries. 
I only spent a few hours in Newcastle, then hurried 
off to another point. 

DURHAM. 

This beautiful town, which stands on a hill almost 
surrounded by tke River Wear, contains a large and 



a8o A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

magnificent cathedral and castle. The latter was 
built by William the Conqueror. The cathedral 
stands on this high hill overlooking a beautiful valley 
through which winds the river. I climbed the wind- 
ing stairway of the large dome and from the balcony 
had a view of the country for miles around. Tourists 
will find Durham an interesting point. 

YORK. 

This very ancient city has a population of 55,000, 
and is 191 miles from London. York is said to have 
been founded 983 B. C. In 150 A. D. it was a great 
Roman station. Here Emperor Severus died and 
Constantine the Great, it is said, was born here. Con- 
stantine's father died here in 307. In the Saxon era, 
York was noted for the baptism of Edwin of North- 
umbria by Panlumus. It afterward became the fav- 
orite capitol of the Danes, whose chief was defeated 
by Harold in 1066. 

This is a walled city. They were built chiefly during 
the reign of Edward III. They have been restored 
quite often since. I walked around on top of the walls 
and came down a stone stairway leading to one of the 
old gates. In going through the quaint streets of the 
city I stopped and gazed about like a boy paying his 
first visit to the city. Especially so on coming to 
what is called the shambles. The houses on this very 
narrow, winding street are three stories and project 
from the first floor. One could almost touch the 
house on the opposite side from the third floor. King 
William's old palace, now used by the parish poor, 
and King James' old palace, used as a blind asylum, 



r; A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 281 

and the merchants' Adventurer's Hall, which is 800 
years old, and the York Minister, one of the finest ca- 
thedrals in England, are all places of great interest. 
The cathedral was completed in 1472. If the reader 
should visit Old England they will find the old city 
of York one of the most interesting points in that 
country. 

CHESTER. 

Chester is also a walled city and I greatly enjoyed 
a walk around the old walls. Many of the houses are 
quite as ancient looking as those I saw in York. 
There is also a magnificent cathedral here, which is 
well worth a visit. 

NOTTINGHAM. 

Is a busy city ; stands on a rocky eminence near the 
River Trent. It is the principal place for the making 
of lace and hosiery in England. It has a population 
of nearly 300,000. My friend, Mr. Marwood, whom 
I met on the steamer on my trip across in 1894, sent 
me an invitation to spend a few days with him. The 
few days spent in that old city were thoroughly en- 
joyed. 

WORCESTER. 

Is another place in which I visited and in which 
I was greatly interested. The Royal Porcelain works 
and the old cathedral were the principal points of in- 
terest. I should like to have given the reader more 
elaborate description of these towns and cities,, but 
space will not permit. 



282 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

LONDON. 

While I greatly admired the many large and hand- 
some buildings and splendid boulevards in Paris, and 
consider it one of the finest cities I have ever visited, 
yet historic old London has a charm about it for me 
that Paris or any other city has not. London is 
crowded with interest, and especially so for any lover 
of English history. One needs to spend considerable 
time in this wonderful city in order to see all the inter- 
esting points. When I came out of the St. Pancras 
station I found no difficulty in getting my bearings, 
for the old city seemed quite familiar to me, especially 
that part of it. I made my way to Bernard street, 
Russell Square, and was soon comfortably fixed away 
in the old home where I formerly lodged. 

The children who had made the house ring with 
their merry shouts in previous years, had laid aside 
their toys and were packing their heads with useful 
knowledge. One of them had passed beyond her 
school days and, like many other hopeful lassies, was 
passing through the blissful stage of courtship, with a 
fair prospect of going on to the matrimonial stage in 
which, I understand, there is less of sentiment and far 
less poetry. This was a large apartment house in 
which there were people from different parts of the 
world, some of whom were in the great city on busi- 
ness and others "sight seeing." 

One man and his wife were from my own native 
land and were full-fledged Yankees. A gentleman 
and two ladies were from Australia. There was also 
a very bright and interesting fellow from South Africa 
and he had also lived on the Island of St. Helena. 




London Bridge. 




Old St. Martin's Church, Canterbury, England. 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 283 

Then there was a bright, genial young man from 
Wales, who was expecting in a short time to graduate 
at one of the colleges. 

He said to me one day in speaking of his home : "My 
governor (referring to his father) died a few months 
ago and when he left us, nearly all the sunshine went 
out of my life. He was such a bright, sunny man. 
My life was bound up in his. I found it difficult to 
gather up the threads and go on with my studies." 
Then he added : "The 'governor' was one of the best 
lawyers (or barristers, as they are called) in our sec- 
tion of the country, and I am anxious to take his place 
if possible, but it will take hard plodding." 

I thought there was good timber in that Welch lad. 
There was also a great, stalwart Englishman who had 
been living in one of the South Sea Islands for a num- 
ber of years. He and his brother were engaged in 
business there. 

"I am expecting to return soon," he said, "but I 
dread going back." 

We soon learned that the principal reason was that 
his bachelor-heart had been pierced by cupid's dart, 
and, being somewhat advanced in life, it had handled 
him rather severely, which, I am told, is usually the 
case. He expressed himself as being very hopeful of 
soon coming again to London and joining hands with 
this fair daughter of Old England and returning with 
her to that far-off Island. 

London was once a walled city and some parts of 
the old walls are still remaining. What is known as 
the city lies between Temple Bar on the west and Aid- 
gate on the east, the Thames on the south and Smith- 
field and Finsbury Circus on the north. Boroughs 



284 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

and villages have been added to it until now it covers 
an area of 700 square miles and has 6,600 miles of 
streets, and over 600,000 buildings and a population 
of nearly 6,000,000, made up of people from all parts 
of the world. In passing through the Italian quar- 
ters a few days after the assassination of the King of 
Italy, and seeing the great display of Italian flags tied 
with crepe, and hearing the people conversing in their 
own tongue, made me almost think I was in that 
sunny country. 

In conversation with one of the policemen he in- 
formed me there were 700 city and 16,000 metropoli- 
tan policemen. This finely governed city can well 
boast of its splendid police service. They are men who 
thoroughly understand their business and are fine, 
obliging officers. I have never asked them for any 
information in their line but what they gave it to me 
cheerfully and in a very gentlemanly manner. They 
are not appointed because of any political opinion 
they may hold, but on their merits, and retain their po- 
sition so long as they are faithful to duty, and when 
they are disabled are pensioned. Many of the public 
buildings are quite large and principally built of stone. 
In the residential portion of the city are long rows of 
houses, ranging from two to five stories high, usually 
built of dingy colored brick. They also have the ten- 
ement system, many of them being very large flats. 
There is an absence of the "Tower of Babel" style of 
buildings, such as are seen in most of our American 
cities. 

A man in Dublin, one day, called my attention to a 
large building on Sackville street and said : "Dq ye,e,s. 
have buildings the size of that in America?" 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 285 

I smiled and said, "Oh, yes; we have them thirty 
stories high." 

With a look of surprise he remarked : "Och, sure'n 
yees must shake hands with the clouds." 

I found one of the best ways to see London was 
from the top of an omnibus. There are very many 
lines running to all parts of the city and suburbs, 
the fare being a penny a mile. Very many of the driv- 
ers are regular bureaus of information and take great 
pleasure in pointing out the places of interest to 
strangers sitting near them. I wondered how they 
managed to avoid a collision driving through the 
densely crowded streets, but they seem to thoroughly 
understand the art of driving through a small space. 

The ride down the strand to Charing Cross and 
Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus, to Hyde Park, 
is one that I always enjoyed, and also along Regent 
and Oxford streets, on either side of which are very 
many splendid shops. 

One day I rode from Chelsea, which is some dis- 
tance up the Thames, to the London Bridge, and from 
the top of the 'bus saw a good portion of the city. 
London Bridge is 918 feet long, built in 1825. It is 
a wonderful bridge from the fact of the great amount 
of traffic that passes over it. It is densely crowded all 
through the day. It is said there are 100,000 pedes- 
trians and 20,000 vehicles that cross it daily. 

"Where does this vast multitude come from?" I 
asked a gentleman one day. 

"Oh, sir, from the different railway stations on the 
Surry side, and then, too, there is an immense popula- 
tion on that side of the river," he replied. 

Frequently from this, and Black Friars, and Water- 



286 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

loo Bridges men and women, with no light in the lan- 
tern of hope, throw themselves over into the swift 
flowing Thames and sink beneath its dark waters. 

The Tower Bridge is comparatively new. It was 
opened to traffic with great pomp and show in the 
summer of 1894. The Prince of Wales took part in 
the programme. Not far from the London Bridge 
is the Old Tower of London, built on the banks of the 
Thames on the brow of Tower Hill. On this spot 
very many distinguished persons have met their 
death at the hands of the executor. Mr. Bailey says, 
in his history of the tower: "It was built about the 
time of Constantine the Great, and it is supposed to 
owe its origin to the Romans." It is also stated that 
it was the treasury of the mint of the Romans and the 
reason given by Doctor Mills for this assertion is that 
in laying the foundation for the new ordinance build- 
ing the workmen discovered an ingot of silver with im- 
pressions of Roman characters and also several gold 
coins. 

William the Conqueror built the famous white 
tower and during the time of William's two sons, Wil- 
liam Rufus and Henry I, several important fortifica- 
tions were added. This old tower has been used both 
as a royal residence and as a prison. Stephen is the 
first monarch that is mentioned as residing here. King 
John kept his court in the tower and made many ad- 
ditions to the fortifications. In 121 5 the barons be- 
seiged it and King John was forced to make many 
concessions among others signing the Magna Charter, 
the photo of which I saw in the British Museum. 
During the reign of Mary, Lady Jane Grey was im- 
prisoned here and finally was executed on Tower 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 287 

Green. I stood on this spot where she and Ann 
Boelyn both met their death and afterward visited the 
old church in the tower where Lady Jane Grey was 
buried. I also visited the part called the Beauchamp 
tower where she and very many other prominent per- 
sons were confined as prisoners. As I passed through 
the different rooms where these men and women had 
languished, many of them innocent of any crime but 
simply the victims of the hatred of some crowned head 
or some one high in authority. I said to the gentle- 
man with me : "We need to be glad we live in an age 
when such injustice and cruelty would not be toler- 
ated." 

On the walls were some very curious inscriptions 
and devices. Some I copied from my guide book, 
which read as follows : 

"I. H. S. A passage perilous maketh the port 
pleasant. — Arthur Pool, A. D. 1568. As virtue mak- 
eth life, so sin causeth death. — Thomas Baudwin, July, 

1585-" 

At the base of the windows is this inscription: 
"Learn to fear God," and below the inscription the 
monagram J. C. 1538. 

It is supposed to have been some one connected 
with the i Irish rebellion. There was an Italian in- 
scription which had been translated: "Oh, unhappy 
man that I think myself to be." Another inscription : 
"I am waiting for liberty," dated 1587. "It is a re- 
proach to be bound in the cause of sin, but to sustain 
the bonds of prison, for the sake of Christ is the great- 
est glory." — Arundell, 26 of May, 1587. 

Among the most noted prisoners confined in the 
tower have been King John of France, David Bruce 



288 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

of Scotland, Archbishop Cranmer and Lord Russell. 
In the horse armory are ancient armors dating from 
1 272-161 8. These were once worn by princes and 
nobles. In another department were trophies from 
Quebec, Malta, India and various other places. There 
were also very many very old relics, among them be- 
ing the block on which Lord Lovatt was beheaded, 
and also the axe with which it was done. There were 
instruments of torture of different kinds, among them 
being the thumb screw. In the Jewel House are the 
crown jewels, valued at $15,000,000. Among them 
was the late Queen Victoria's crown, containing 2,783 
diamonds and a sapphire and ruby. The crown cost 
$560,000. There were a number of other crowns, but 
none of them so costly and elaborate as Victoria's. 
The glass case containing the crown jewels was sur- 
rounded with an iron railing. William Penn, so hon- 
ored in America, was born on Tower Hill. 

A few minutes' walk brings one to old St. Paul's 
Cathedral, which shows the touch of time. As one 
looks at this edifice he concludes that Sir Christopher 
Wren, who built the cathedral in 1665- 1700, had ex- 
cellent ideas of architecture. It is a latin cross with a 
nave 500x118 feet, transept 250 feet. The height 
to the cross on the top of the dome is 404 feet. The 
cathedral is furnished with very plain seats, with a 
sprinkling of old fashioned rush-bottom chairs. The 
floors are of stone and, like all the cathedrals that I 
visited, had a cheerless appearance. In this cathedral 
are a number of monuments and tablets. in memory 
of some of England's illustrious dead. In the crypt 
was Wellington's hearse, made of the cannons cap- 
tured in the different battles in which he was engaged. 



k/ 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 289 

From the dome I had a splendid view of the city and 
the surrounding country. 

I attended service at the cathedral several times and 
quite enjoyed it. Most of the service was rendered 
by the fine choir. The last service I attended there I 
listened to a most excellent sermon by one of the cel- 
ebrated divines whose name I cannot recall. If each 
one of us who listened to that sermon would spin the 
threads of practical truth through our lives, that the 
clergyman passed out, our influence for good would 
be far-reaching. 

The great Bank of England is in the vicinity of St. 
Paul's. I had occasion to go there one day, and saw 
gold in abundance. "But only with my eyes could 
I behold it." 

The mansion house, which is a fine, old building, is 
also in this locality. 

From here one soon finds his way to Cheap Side, a 
busy street with many handsome shops. It is gen- 
erally so crowded that one finds it difficult to make his 
way along, especially so when the ladies are out in full 
force spending their shillings. 

The old Bow Church stands on this street with its 
tower 235 feet high. Every one born within the 
sound of the Bow church bells are called "Cokneys." 
From this thoroughfare runs Bread street, where 
Milton, the great poet, was born; and Milk street, 
where Sir Thomas Moore first saw the light of day. 
Fleet street runs from near St. Paul's Cathedral to the 
Strand, passing Congregational Hall, on the site of 
the Fleet Prison, made famous by Dickens. One 
can scarcely put his feet down in London without step- 
ping on historic ground. The Strand, which is also 

19 



2Q0 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

a crowded street, leads to Charing Cross. At the 
Charing Cross railway station one can take a train to 
the south coast of England. Several times I patron- 
ized this road in going to Canterbury. 

One day on coming into this station I inquired of 
one of the platform guards where I would find drink- 
ing water. 

"In yon corner," he replied. But in going to 
"yon" corner I failed to find the desired article. Not 
wanting to begin the journey of sixty miles to Canter- 
bury before slaking my thirst, I began to search dil- 
igently for the spring. 

"The guard told me there was drinking water in this 
part of the station, but I can't find it," I said to a man 
standing near by. 

"Oh, we don't drink much water over here," he re- 
marked. 

"So I have observed," I replied, and added: "I 
think it would be a fine thing if you drank more of it 
and less of something strong." 

He said nothing, but gazed at me as if he regarded 
me as a curiosity. 

f I finally found some water in one of the private 
offices. I said to the man in charge : "I think your 
railroad companies have considerable to learn, and 
one of the most important is the comfort and conven- 
ience of their patrons," and further remarked : "Our 
railway stations are furnished with excellent drinking 
water, as well as our trains." 

He said, with considerable meaning in his remark : 
"I think we can all learn something." 

I presume he thought I might learn to hold my 
tongue a "bit more" steady, which possibly would be 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 291 

a wise thing to do even in a place where water was 
scarce. 

A few minutes' walk brings one to Trafalgar Square, 
which is one of the prettiest parts of that section of 
the city. A column, 177 feet high, in memory of Nel- 
son, stands in the centre of the circle and near it is a 
beautiful fountain. On one side of the street opposite 
the square stands the old National Art Gallery, con- 
taining over 1,000 fine paintings, many being master- 
pieces of the artists of the long ago. This is one of 
the places that I found it difficult to leave. 

Whitehall leads south to Whitehall Palace. It is a 
massive stone building which has quite an interesting 
history connected with it. Here is where Henry VIII 
spent most of his time and where he first met Anne 
Boelyn, and where he finally laid aside his royal robes 
and made his way out into the unseen world.. Milton 
and Cromwell are said to have resided here and the 
latter closed up his eventful life in this old palace. 
Near by is the famous Scotland yards, the police head- 
quarters. I had occasion to go there one day to see 
one of the officers who was a relative of a friend of 
mine in America. It is an immense place. The 
headquarters of the Army Horse Guards is nearly op- 
posite to Whitehall palace. The mounted guards at 
the entrance seemed like a piece of statuary, as neither 
the horse nor the rider seemed to move a muscle. 

Only a short distance away stands the House of 
Parliament. It is a large structure, standing on the 
banks of the Thames, covering eight acres. It has 
eleven courts and 1,100 rooms. It was erected in 
i840-i85oat a cost of $15,000,000. Among the three 
large towers on the building is the clock tower, which 



2Q2 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

is 318 feet high. It has a huge clock dial, twenty- 
three feet across, and a bell called "Big Ben," weigh- 
ing thirteen tons, which can be heard for a great dis- 
tance. I have a very vivid recollection of hearing 
"Big Ben" ring out the hour of twelve the first night 
I spent in this great city. I was to meet some gen- 
tlemen at the Y. M. C. A. at Exeter Hall on the 
Strand, and stop at the same hotel with them. But 
through some misunderstanding they failed to mater- 
ialize and I found myself at a very late hour without 
hotel accommodation. It being the night of the 
Derby races, when the hotels are usually crowded, I 
failed to find a place. The assistant secretary of the 
Y. M. C. A. directed me to the Newington Causeway 
Association and said he thought I might find shelter 
there as they had sleeping apartments. But on cross- 
ing the Waterloo bridge and after going that long dis- 
tance on the Surry side, I failed to secure a bed. 

It was a wild, stormy night and as the huge clock 
struck the midnight hour, I found myself in a rough 
part of this immense city not knowing where to go, 
with not only my clothing dampened, but also my 
spirits. I wandered along Newington Causeway, 
meeting many rough looking characters, but did not 
venture to ask of them any information. Finally I 
met a policeman who, when I inquired about hotel ac- 
commodation, took all the wind out of my dampened 
sails by informing me I was on the wrong side of the 
river for hotels. "There is net one short of London 
Bridge," he said, "which is a twenty minutes' walk." 

On nearing that locality, I saw a young man with 
a traveling bag, conversing with a policeman and con- 
cluded at once that he, too, was seeking shelter. 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 293 

As I drew near I overheard the officer say : "I can't 
tell you where to go. I have sent several men to both 
of those hotels (pointing to them across the way) and 
they came away saying they were crowded." 

I informed him I, too, was in need of a place and, 
after some conversation about an Italian lodging 
house in the vicinity, he piloted the stranger and my- 
self there. I had strong suspicions of the place as we 
stopped in front of the door and expressed it to the 
officer, but he assured us we would be safe. But I had 
serious doubts about my safety as I walked through 
that long, dark hallway and climbed the stairway to 
the second floor, where I bade the stranger good 
night. These doubts increased as I followed the Ital- 
ian with his flickering penny dip along another dark 
hallway and then climbed another flight of stairs. 
Upon reaching my room and paying the required 
amount and getting the Italian off of my hands, I be- 
gan to look over my "bundle" to see if I had it prop- 
erly packed for the journey to the "Great Beyond," for 
I was not sure that death in some form was not lurk- 
ing in that old, dingy looking lodging house. But 
the next morning when the sun peeped in the little, 
old fashioned windows, I found myself all intact, and 
soon made my way out to the street with my spirits 
in their normal condition, but my clothing exceed- 
ingly damp. On my reutrn to London I had some 
curiosity to again see "Hotel de Italia," and one day 
crossed the London Bridge and made an effort to lo- 
cate it. Failing to do so, I called at a little restaurant 
near where I thought it should be, and inquired of the 
proprietress if she knew of an Italian restaurant and 



2Q4 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

lodging house in that locality. She came to the door 
with me and said : 

"It was where those new offices are." 

In making some inquiry about the Italian, she said : 
"He was a bad man and had to leave that neighbor- 
hood," and the last she heard of him he was in prison. 
I thought there was some grounds for my suspicions 
of that Italian lodging house that stormy night. 

Returning to the House of Parliament. It is open 
to visitors on Saturdays from 10 to 4, and any one 
visiting London will find it well worth a visit, and if 
they are as fortunate as I was in getting a pass to the 
House of Commons, I think will find themselves 
deeply interested in listening to English statesmen 
discussing various questions. I was reminded of my 
visit to our capitol at Washington, where I heard 
some of our great statesmen giving their opinions at 
great length as to what would be of benefit to our 
wonderful country. I greatly admire the interior 
of the House of Parliament. The House of Lords is 
97x45 feet and has twelve beautiful stained windows 
and statues of the Magna Charter Barons. The 
House of Commons is 62x45 feet and is panelled with 
oak, and has also twelve stained windows. The 
Princes' Chamber, Upper Waiting Hall, Peers' Rob- 
ing Room, Victoria's Gallery and the Queen's Robing 
Room are very richly frescoed. 

Near by is the Westminster Bridge, from which we 
took one of the little, dingy steamers and rode up to 
the Kew Royal Botanical Gardens, containing plants 
and flowers of all countries. After spending some 
time in looking through this beautiful garden we rode 
on the top of a tram car to the old historic town of 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 295 

Richmond, which was only a short distance from the 
Kew Gardens. Eward I built a palace here, and here 
Queen Elizabeth died. White Lodge is finely located 
here, where the present King Edward formerly re- 
sided. 

Just a few days previous to my visit to Rich- 
mond in 1894 the wee Prince made his appearance at 
White Lodge and gladdened the heart of the Duke of 
York and his good wife. I remembered how the 
daily papers heralded all abroad the advent of this little 
bundle of royalty who is in a direct line to the throne. 

Westminster Abbey is one of the most interesting 
places that tourists have on their list. It was founded 
(on the site of a temple to Apollo) by the Saxon King, 
Sebert, in 616 for Benedictines. It was destroyed by 
the Danes and rebuilt by Edgar in 985 and Edward 
the Confessor in 1049. Henry VIII drove out the 
monks and Queen Mary restored them. Queen Eliz- 
abeth again scattered them. All the sovereigns since 
Harold have been crowned here. 

The chair in which William and Mary were crowned 
is still in the old Abbey. Near it is the very ancient 
looking chair made for Edward I to enclose the fam- 
ous stone of Scone. Tradition identifies this stone 
with the one that Jacob rested his head on at Bethel. 
Jacob's sons carried it to Egypt. From there it 
passed into Spain with King Gathelus, son of Cecrops, 
the builder of Athens. It was carried by Simon 
Brech, the Spanish king's son, to Ireland when he in- 
vaded that country. There it was placed on the sa- 
cred Hill of Tara and called the "Stone of Destiny." 
When the Irish kings sat on it at the coronations, it 
groaned aloud if the claimant was of royal race, and 



2Q6 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

remained quiet if he was a "pretender. It was received 
into Scotland by Fergus, the founder of the Scottish 
monarchy, and one of the blood royal of Ireland. In 
850 A. D., King Kenneth deposited it in the monas- 
tery at Scone. It was for centuries an object of ven- 
eration by the Scotch who fancied while it remained 
in their country their state would be unshaken. 
When Edward I invaded Scotland he seized the stone 
and carried it to England and placed it in Westminster 
Abbey in the year 1297. On this chair and stone all 
the sovereigns have since been crowned. This chair 
is covered with a cloth of gold during the coronation. 
I was inclined to be a wee bit skeptical about many 
things said of this old stone. Nevertheless, it has a 
wonderful history, even though there is considerable 
doubt about Jacob, the patriarch, resting his weary 
head on it at Bethel that eventful night that he was 
fleeing from his old home after deceiving his old father 
and robbing Esau of his blessing. 

Westminster Abbey is 513x75 feet in area, and 102 
feet high. The towers are 225 feet high. As one 
steps into this old edifice he finds it crowded with 
monuments of kings, heroes and scholars. The 
chapel of Henry VII, built in 1502, has nave, aisles and 
five chapels and 1,000 statues. Here are seen the 
tombs of Henry VII, James I, Mary Queen of Scots, 
Charles II, William and Mary, George of Denmark, 
Queen Ann, Dean Stanley and Queen Elizabeth. 
The chapel of St. Edward the Confessor has tombs of 
Henry V, Henry III, Queen Eleanor, Richard II, Ed- 
ward the Confessor and Edward I. The latter died 
July 7, 1307. This account of him was on the tomb : 
"500 years after his burial, the tomb was opened and 




CORONATION CHAIR. 



298 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

his body found in a good state of preservation, having 
been embalmed. He was 6 feet, 2 inches. They, 
styled him 'Long Shanks.' " 

I thought as I looked at those old tombs containing 
the dust of royalty, that old death could chill royal 
blood as quickly as the so-called common kind. 
While I believe in honoring those in authority, yet I 
am inclined to think that the same blood that coursed 
through old Father Adam and Mother Eve is circulat- 
ing through the veins of the whole human family, and 
that we are all made from the same piece of cloth, even 
though some may be cut more on the bias than others. 

We attended service in this old edifice one Sunday 
evening. It was a very simple and impressive one. 
The sermon was interesting and packed with gospel 
truths. The large congregation joined heartily in the 
singing, especially so when they sang that beautiful 
hymn written by Cardinal Newman, "Lead Kindly 
Light." 

Old St. Margret's Church stands under the shadow 
of the Westminster Abbey. It was built on the site 
of a church built by Edward the Confessor in 1064. 
The windows of this church are magnificent, espec- 
ially the one representing the crucifixion. Milton's 
wife and Cromwell's mother are buried in this old 
church and the dust of Sir Walter Raleigh lies under 
the altar. This structure shows the mark of time. 

Pall Mall is a splendid street, nearly a half mile in 
length, running west from Trafalgar Square, on either 
side of which are many magnificent club houses. The 
Marlborough House is on Pall Mall. It was built by 
Christopher Wren, the great builder of nearly three 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 299 

centuries ago. It was one of the residences of the 
present king, Edward. 

Near by is St. James' Palace, a brick building built 
by Henry VIII. It was the home of England's kings 
from 1 69 1 to 1809. Queen Victoria was married in 
the chapel. I was very much interested in witnessing 
the guard mounting and listened with rapt attention 
at the music rendered by the excellent military band. 

The Buckingham Palace is at the west end of the 
St. James' Park. This was the city residence of the 
late Queen Victoria. In the rear of this palace are 
large gardens, handsomely laid out. I sent one of my 
books written on my former trip through the British 
Isles to Her Majesty and received an acknowledg- 
ment of it from her through her private secretary, 
dated from Buckingham Palace. 

Regent Park, with its 420 acres, is a densely popu- 
lated district.^ In the grounds are the Zoological 
Gardens. I visited the Gardens one day with some 
friends who seemed bent on trying to see London in 
one day. They kept me on the move so that I did not 
see the Gardens as thoroughly as I desired. They 
did, however, give me a little more time at the monkey 
cage than elsewhere, the reason being they were more 
interested in those animals than the others. I scarcely 
think they believed sufficiently in the Darwinian 
theory to have been looking up their ancestry. 

Hyde Park is another beautiful plot covering about 
300 acres. It was laid out by Henry VIII. At the 
north entrance is a beautiful marble arch and at the 
southeast entrance Hyde Park corner, is another. At 
this entrance one can see many splendid teams and 
vehicles of various kinds coming in with people from 









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A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 301 

the many large and magnificent homes in London. 
Rotten Row is near by and, although the name would 
suggest to one a row of dilapidated buildings, yet 
this is one of the most fashionable parts of the city. 
Many of the residents of 'this section represent high 
life in London. In passing one of the large Opera 
Houses one night, just as it was closing, I saw the 
elite coming out in great numbers, many of them at- 
tired in gorgeous style. Some of them had the ap- 
pearance of having been the belles of society a score 
of years ago. They had managed, by considerable 
artificial fixing, to present a fairly youthful appearance 
in the glare of the electric lights. I noticed a man and 
woman whose faces indicated they had been in the 
old world long enough to be getting ready to cele- 
brate their golden wedding, but who were attired in 
garments suitable for a couple just beginning life. 
However, I presume it is considered out of the line of 
a member of the order of Bachelors to be so observ- 
ing. 

The Victoria Embankment runs along the north 
bank of the Thames from the Black Friars to the 
Westminster Bridge, a distance of a mile. There are 
several beautiful little gardens along this walk and 
driveway. Cleopatra's Needle, the great Egyptian 
obelisk, stands along the embankment. In company 
with a friend, I took a stroll along the embankment 
one evening and stopped at one of the gardens and 
listened to some English airs by the band employed by 
the city. 

"Were you ever in a London fog?" I have fre- 
quently been asked. 

"Well, yes, and will not soon forget it," is my an- 



302 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

swer. One day while looking through old Bunhill 
Field's Cemetery, on City Road, a dense fog suddenly 
settled down on the city, making it necessary, I 
thought, for one to have a chart and compass in order 
to get his bearings. It was of a yellowish cast and so 
dense that it almost seemed to shut out the light of 
day. I made my way over to the opposite side of the 
street to the City Road Wesleyan Chapel to spend the 
time until the fog lifted. In looking through this, the 
first Methodist Church ever built, the fog seemed to 
fill every nook and corner of the chapel. I soon 
found my breathing apparatus rather the worse for 
having to tussle with such an atmosphere. 

"This is a feargul fog," I said to an old Londoner 
in the chapel. 

"Eh, my word," he replied, "but this is light to some 
we 'ave," and added : "Sometimes it is so thick that all 
traffic has to stop, and I 'ave known people who 'ave 
not been able to find their way 'ome." 

I was quite content to have simply a light fog after 
his description of a heavy one. 

I spent some time in looking about this chapel, a 
place that is full of interest to every Methodist. It 
has been greatly improved the past few years. The 
magnificent marble columns were presented by the 
Methodist bodies of different countries. There were 
tables in memory of John and Charles Wesley and 
Dr. Adam Clark, Fletcher, Dr. Coke and many other 
prominent men of Methodism. The service is very 
ritualistic and I was informed it always had been so. 
I climbed the winding stairway of the pulpit and stood 
where John Wesley so often expounded the Word, 
and also saw the communion rail where he officiated. 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 303 

This old edifice stands some distance back from the 
street, in the front and rear of which are the tombs 
of many of the early Methodists. John Wesley's and 
Dr. Adam Clark's tombs are in the rear. On either 
side of the chapel on the line of the street are two 
large dwelling's. One is the manse and the other is 
John Wesley's old home. The latter is open to visi- 
tors. I rang the bell and was admitted by the lady 
attendant, who showed me through this house, which 
from my boyhood I desired to see. On the second 
floor were a number of relics that belonged to the 
Wesley's, among them being his mother's needle case 
and his last hymn book, candlesticks and his study 
chair. There was also an old pewter candlestick 
which has quite a history. One time he was attacked 
by brigands and had this candlestick with him and 
pointed it at the highwaymen. They, thinking it was 
a pistol, fled and his valuables were saved and in all 
probability his life. There was a large white china 
tea pot bearing this inscription : 

"Be present at our table, Lord, 
Be here and everywhere adored; 
These creatures bless and grant that we 
M'ay feast in Paradise with Thee." 

This old relic was used at his tea meetings at the 
chapel. In many of the chapels the different denom- 
inations have tea and light refreshments for the Chris- 
tian workers who do not wish to go home until after 
the evening service, and especially those living some 
distance. Several times when assisting the workers, 
I have remained and taken tea with them and quite 
enjoyed the company of those warm-hearted, earnest 



304 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

Christians. When I entered the room where this 
good man closed his useful life, the picture of his death 
bed scene which hangs on the walls of so many homes 
and on which I looked with so much interest when a 
boy, came vividly before me. I fancied I could see 
the group of weeping friends standing around his bed 
and he, with clasped hands looking into their faces, 
and could hear him say: "The best of all is, God is 
with us." In the little room in the rear is where he 
resorted for prayer. In the corner of the room where 
he died was his bookcase containing a portion of his 
library, and an eight-day clock which was still telling 
the time. 

Upon coming out of the house I found the fog had 
lifted, so I returned to the Bunhill Field. As I was 
entering the gate I met a colored man and woman 
who seemed to be attracting the attention of many of 
the passers-by. 

"Excuse me, sir," I said to him; "are you from 
America?" 

"We are," he replied; "and so are you. Your 
name is Butler, is it not?" 

"That is the name I am proud to own, sir," I said. 

"I told my wife when I saw you coming that I knew 
you." 

"I have no recollection of ever meeting you before." 

"Why, sir, you sang a piece, entitled 'Old Jordan's 
Waves,' at our church at Asbury Park, N. J., when I 
was stationed there." 

I finally remembered the man and the circumstance. 

"How long have you been on this side of the At- 
lantic?" I inquired. 

"Several months," he answered, and added: "We 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 305 

are on our way to South Africa to engage in mission 
work, but the war broke out and we have been de- 
tained here in London, but I think we will soon leave 
for that far-off land." 

I presume now they are there, pointing out the 
homeward path to those benighted people. 

In my wanderings through the cemetery I came to 
the tomb of the illustrious John Bunyan. The mon- 
ument erected to his memory was a large granite 
block, on the top of which was a recumbent figure of 
this good man. The grave of Daniel De Foe, the 
author of "Robinson Crusoe," is not far away. Sus- 
anna Wesley, the mother of John and Charles Wesley, 
and Dr. Isaac Watts are buried here. I copied some 
very quaint epitaphs in this cemetery, some of which 
will be found on the page of epitaphs. An English- 
man sitting beside me in an omnibus said to me, as 
some Americans were leaving the 'bus: "London is 
full of Yakees," 

"Yes," I replied, "there are hundreds of them here." 

"I can always tell a Yankee, especially the women," 
he said, "for they usually have a bundle of guide books 
and carry a little leather bag at their side," and added : 
"They are great women. They seem so independent. 
They don't mind going about without an escort." 

"Well, this is characteristic of them," I replied. 
"One reason," I said, "why there are so many Ameri- 
cans here this summer is on account of the world's 
convention of the society of Christian Endeavor." 

"Oh, that is something I know little about," he re- 
plied in a way that led me to think he was not inter- 
ested in their line of work. I think the Englishman 
left the 'bus without the least suspicion I was an Amer- 



20 



306 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

ican. The year or more spent on the British Isles I 
presume I lost some of the Yankee twang and the 
"guessing and calculating," as they style it. 

The world's convention of the Society of Christian 
Endeavor was to have been held at the Crystal Palace, 
but through some misunderstanding the committee 
failed to get it, and at a very late date secured the 
Alexander Palace. It is situated in a beautiful park 
of 300 acres, overlooking the city. There is also an 
artificial lake covering about five acres, which adds 
greatly to the beauty of the park. The buildings are 
quite large, especially the Central Hall. Meeting one 
of the Irish delegates from Belfast, he requested me to 
meet him and a number of other delegates that eve- 
ning at the Irish headquarters at the palace. In com- 
pany with a friend, I took one of the many crowded 
suburban trains and rode out to the park. On en- 
tering the main hall we found it finely decorated with 
flags and mottoes of various kinds. There was a small 
audience gathered near the stage, listening to a 
young lady render a solo. We thought, of course, 
it was a Christian Endeavorer and that it was a prepar- 
atory meeting. At the base of the stage was this 
motto in very large letters: "Thy Kingdom Come." 
On returning from the Irish headquarters to this hall, 
we were led to quickly change our minds in reference 
to the character of the meeting. The young woman 
did not prove to be a Christian Endeavorer, but was 
endeavoring to demonstrate to the little audience 
how near the ceiling she could send one of her feet 
and at the same time steady herself with the other. 
They said she was giving the skirt dance, but I've con- 
cluded that whatever the performance might be, it was 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 307 

not very conducive to helping on the kingdom re- 
ferred to on the motto at the base of the stage. We 
soon discovered the waiters were passing out an arti- 
cle to the thirsty customers that would not be ap- 
proved of by the White Ribbon sisters. 

"You should have known what kind of a p'ace you 
were taking me to," said my friend to me. 

I took his reproof meekly and hurried away with 
him to the city. The convention did not commence 
until Saturday morning, July 14th, and the company 
holding forth at the palace were not supposed to va- 
cate until after their performance on the previous eve- 
ning. 

The convention commenced in the Central Hall 
with an organ recital by A. J. Hawkins, of the City 
Temple, of which Dr. Parker is pastor, after which 
the welcome meeting was held, presided over by Rev. 
J. D. Lamont, chairman of the National British Coun- 
cil, Rev. W. McNight giving the address of welcome. 
The responses were by Mrs. Dr. Clark and J. Willis 
Baer, of America; Canon Richardson, of Canada, and 
Catherine Barbour, of Spain, and a number of others 
from different countries. 

In the Royal Albert Hall a musical service was 
given, conducted by the Rev. Carey Bonnar. The 
chairman of the welcome meeting in this hall was 
Rev. F. B. Meyer, president of the British National 
Union. He is one of the choice spirits of this age. 
I heard him at the Belfast Y. M. C. A. give a most 
excellent discourse on "The grain of mustard seed." 
He has recently been in America on a brief evangelis- 
tic tour. The address was by J. Brown Morgan. 
The responses by Rev. F. E. Clark, D.D., Rev. W. 



308 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

Patterson, of Canada, Rev. Bleeker, of Germany, and 
Rev. Carlos Arango, of Spain. 

On Sunday morning we helped swell the immense 
crowd that filled the City Temple and listened to a 
very able sermon by the Rev. Dr. Parker. One of 
the many things he said that impressed me was this : 
"If we take our little cross and place it beside the 
great tree of Calvary, it is as nothing compared to it." 
This eminent divine held the attention of that large 
congregation for over an hour. He has a preaching 
service in the Temple every Thursday morning, and 
the congregation is usually very large. Among those 
who took part in the meetings the following week at 
the Palace were : Rev. John Edgar, of Glasgow ; Rev. 
Charles Jordan, of Calcutta; Rev. Charles Bright, of 
Australia; Rev. W. H. Stapleton, of Yakusa, Upper 
Congo; J. J. White, of China; Rev. Silas Mead, L.L. 
B., of Harley College, and the Rev. Henry Montgom- 
ery, of Belfast, a man whose influence for good is far- 
reaching ; Rev. Alex. Walters, of Jersey, N. Y. ; Rev. 
W. L. Watkinson, President of the Wesleyan Con- 
ference, and the Rev. John McNeill, the Scotch evan- 
gelist, who conducted the evangelistic service. 

"My mother and father," he said, "were Christian 
Endeavorers back in their day. When they were first 
married they established the family altar and as they 
gathered about it joined in singing and each took their 
turns praying. Neither of them could scarcely sing 
a note, but endeavored to sing the best they could 
until God sent them along six little singers. I am one 
of them and if you should want to clear this hall you 
would only have to call on me to sing a solo." 

I also heard him at a meeting at Belfast the winter 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 309 

previous and was amused as well as greatly helped by 
his quaint remarks. Lady Somerset was on the pro- 
gram for an address, but could not be present, which 
was a great disappointment to the people, especially 
to the American delegates, many of whom were anx- 
ious to hear this excellent woman. I had the pleasure 
of listening to Rev. Canon Barker, chaplain to the 
late Queen Victoria. I also listened to Rev. Frances 
E. Clark, D.D., of Portland, Maine, founder of the 
Society of Christian Endeavor. In the summer of 
1898 I visited his church in Portland, Me., and was in 
the little room where he organized this society, little 
thinking, I presume, that it would widen and spread 
until it would belt the entire globe and in a few years 
after that little meeting that men and women would 
gather from all parts of the world to mingle their 
voices in songs of praise and prayer to Him whose 
grace is free to all mankind. The Rev. Dr. Parker 
also took part in some of the meetings and Rev. Robt. 
Veitch, of Liverpool; Rev. O. Davies, of Rochdale, 
Eng. ; Rev. Hanley Moule, D.D., of Cambridge; Rev. 
S. M. Campbell, of Chicago, and the Rev. Floyd 
Tompkins, one of Philadelphia's able and earnest 
Episcopal clergymen, who, by his plain, practical gos- 
pel sermons and simple methods, is doing a vast 
amount of good. 

At one of the workers' meetings I listened to a very 
helpful talk by the Rev. Charles M. Sheldon, author of 
"In His Steps," The cantata, entitled "Comrades," 
given in the Great Central Hall, conducted by the 
Rev. Carey Bonnar, was listened to by a large and 
appreciative audience. It was rendered by a large 
adult choir, assisted by 1,000 Junior Endeavorers, 



310 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

and ioo choristers from Dr. Spurgeon's Stockwell 
Orphanage and ioo boys from Dr. Barnado's Home. 
The remarks by the Bishop of London at one of the 
meetings were excellent and to the point. Rev. 
Hugh Price Hughes was also on the program. He is 
engaged with Rev. Mark Guy Pearce in a mission 
held in St. James' Hall at Piccadilley. I attended 
their services on my previous visit to London and also 
was at the service the last Sunday evening I spent in 
the great city. 

In the Palace Park grounds were a number of small 
tents in which many of the male delegates were quar- 
tered. There were also several large tents in which 
services were held. I attended one of the closing ser- 
vices held in one of these tents. At the roll call, when 
the different countries were called, the delegates rep- 
resenting them arose and sang a hymn. The Irish 
delegates sang "Ireland for Christ." The Germans 
responded heartily with a hymn that few understood, 
but we enjoyed the melody. The English sang that 
beautiful old hymn written by Dr. Isaac Watts : 

"When I survey the wondrous cross 
On which the Prince of Glory died, 

'My richest gain I count hut loss, 
And pour contempt on all my pride." 

The American delegates joined in singing, "There 
is a fountain filled with blood." I met a very inter- 
esting young man who was a delegate from Cairo, 
Egypt. He had been in that far-off country as a mis- 
sionary. His home was in the town of F, New York 
state. He was enroute for America for a short visit 
and then expected to return again to his field of labor. 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 311 

"What are you doing here?" said a man to me as he 
touched me on the shoulder. To my surprise it was 
Rev. R. R. P — , whom I had known from my boy- 
hood. In reply to his question I said : 

"I have been on this side of old ocean so long that 
I feel as though I have almost become part and parcel 
of the Queen's subjects." However, I was greatly 
pleased to hail him and many others from my native 
land, and especially one of my friends from Lewiston, 
Me., who, with a number of others from the old Pine 
Tree State, were delegates to this great convention. 

THE BRITISH MUSEUM. 

This interesting place was only a few minutes' walk 
from my lodgings and I went so often that many 
times on leaving the house some one would ask : "Go- 
ing to the British Museum to-day?" 

Sometimes my answer would be : "Well, not to-day ; 
I have another place on my program," but before the 
day closed I would find my way there and wander 
about looking at the many old relics of centuries ago. 
It contains one of the grandest collections in the 
world. There are Elgin marbles from Athenia and 
Parthenon and hundreds of Greek and Roman sculp- 
tures and statuary and Reliefs from Babylon, Ninevah 
and Nimrod. There are six rooms full of Egyptian 
antiquities of the Flint, Celtic, Roman and Saxon and 
Mediaeval ages in England, and also vast collection 
in zoology. The library contains over 10,000 vol- 
umes. In the Roman and Greek departments there 
were many things in which I became intensely inter- 
ested, among them being some stones from the great 



312 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

theatre of Ephesus inscribed with "Bequest C Vibius 
Salutarus, A. D. 104." Also wall stones from the 
Temple of Diana at Ephesus, inscribed with grants of 
citizenship and other honors to benefactors of Ephe- 
sus. There was a Greek inscription from Thessalo- 
nica containing -names of certain Politarchs, an un- 
common title accurately quoted by St. Luke, Acts 17: 
6-8. I was unable to read the various inscriptions, yet 
was interested in them because of their wonderful his- 
tory. 

Among the busts was one of Homer, Julius Caesar 
and Nero ; also a statue of Apollo as a player on the 
lyre from Cyrene. There were many sarcophagii, on 
the lids of which were painted many curious designs. 
There were slabs from Athens with various designs, 
some of them representing deities. There were a 
large number of Egyptian relics, covering a period 
from B. C. 3,600 to A. D. 350, among them being a 
cast of Rameses II, who was king of Egypt B. C. 1333. 
There was also a cast of the statue of Kephren, who 
was king of Egypt B. C. 3666. There were mum- 
mies of many of the prominent men and women of 
Egypt who lived hundreds of years before the birth 
of Christ. In the Assyrian and Babylonian depart- 
ment were stamped bricks with different inscriptions 
found in the palaces and other buildings of Babylonia 
and Assyrian kings, beginning with Dungi, king of 
Babylon, B. C. 2500; old gate sockets and boundary 
stones were among the relics, B. C. 4500. There 
were hard stone cylinders with inscriptions. One of 
them was marked with the translation which read as 
follows: "I am Darius, the great king." I thought 
as I read it that men far back in the days of Darius had 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 313 

imaginary large heads. A cylinder of Nebuchadnez- 
zar II, king of Babylon with an account of building 
walls and temple, B. C. 604. Also five cylinders in- 
scribed with a summary of the wars of the early years 
of the reign of Sennacherib, B. C. 681-705. One also 
with the account of the siege and capture of Jerusalem 
and defeat of Hezekiah, king of Judea. One in- 
scribed with the annals of Esarhaddon, B. C. 668-681, 
and recording the submission of Manasseh, king of 
Judea. There were a number of glass bowls and vases 
and various articles from Nimrod; the most import- 
ant was a small glass vase inscribed with the name of 
Sargon, 705-722 B. C. There was a cylinder of Cyrus 
giving an account of the capture of Babylon, B. C. 

539- 

Among the very interesting relics I saw was a Ro- 
man slave badge. These were hung around the neck 
of the slave with a brass ring with an inscription as 
warrant for the arrest of the slave if he ran away. 
This read as follows : 

"Keep me and do not let me run away, and bring 
me back to my master, Vivintus, on the estate of Cal- 
litus." 

Among the clay tables was one said to have been an 
inscription of Tiglath-Pilsur III, king of Assyria, 
727-745 B. C, recording his conquest and building 
operations among the different kings, among them 
being Ahaz, king of Judah. Tiglath-Pilsur was 
known among the Hebrews by his Bablyonian name, 
"Pul," mentioned in 2d Kings 15:19. The cast of 
the inscription of the pool of Siloam, B. C. 700, I re- 
garded with great interest. The inscription was cut 
out of the conduit which filled the pool. It states that 



314 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

when the excavations began to work at the ends and 
met in the centre that the miners when separated by 
a distance of three cubits heard each other's voices and 
hewed away with their picks until the water flowed 
from the spring to the pool. 

There was a cast of the Phenician inscription of the 
Moabite stone. The stone was about three feet by ten. 
The monument about B. C. 900. It gives an account 
of the war of Mesha, king of Moab, against Omri, 
Ahab, and other kings of Israel, reference 2 Kings, 
4:4; 2 Kings, 4:25. There were also fragments of 
clay tablets inscribed with a part of the Assyrian ac- 
count of the creation. This was from the library of 
Assur-Ban-Pal, king of Assyria, B. C. 668-626 at Nin- 
eveh. 

I spent considerable time in the manuscript room, 
in which were specimens of ancient and illuminated 
manuscripts and autographs, letters and literary works 
and charters and seals. There was a complete set of 
seventy-two impressions of the seals from Edward the 
Confessor to Queen Victoria. Also the photo of the 
Magna Charter by King John, dated at Runnymead, 
June 15, 121 5, A. D., also an original Bull of Pope 
Leo X, conferring on Henry VIII the title of De- 
fender of the Faith, dated at Rome October 11, 1521, 
and signed by the Pope and many of the cardinals. It 
was damaged by fire in 173 1. A double roll contain- 
ing the Pentatuch in Hebrew, written on goat skin. 
In one of the glass cases there was a great number of 
autographs of the kings and queens and prominent 
men of the past ages. There was a notice for the ed- 
ucation of Henry VI in 1432, also a letter from Ed- 
ward VI and his Council confirming the use of the 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 315 

common prayer book in 1549. Letters from Lady- 
Jane Gray, 1553, proclamation of Queen Elizabeth, 
papers relating to the trial and execution of Mary, 
Queen of Scots. Also the manuscript of George 
Fox, the Quaker, on Old Testament texts ; the auto- 
biography of Richard Baxter, the non-conformist ; the 
mauuscript of Whitfield on the separation of the Meth- 
odist Church from the Church of England ; an original 
copy of Thomas Grey's Elegy (1750) of "The 
Country Church-yard." There was also an autograph 
letter of Martin Luther on Cromwell's zeal for the 
cause of Christ, in 1536; Thomas Cranmer on the 
royal permission for buying and reading the English 
Bible in England, 1537; autographs of many of the 
English sovereigns — Richard II, 1397; Henry IV, 
1406; Henry V, 1419; Henry VI, 1437; Edward IV, 
1472; Edward V, 1483; Henry VII, 1500; Henry 
VIII, thanking Cardinal Woolsey for his public la- 
bors; a letter from Queen Anne Boleyn, 1530, thank- 
ing Cardinal Woolsey for bringing about her mar- 
riage to Henry VIII. She did not fell so grateful to 
the Cardinal after she had lived with Henry a short 
time, especially so when she stood on Tower Green 
about to be beheaded; Queen Mary, 1554; Queen 
Elizabeth, 1576; James I, 1623; Charles I, 1644; 
Charles II, 1672; James II, 1685; Queen Mary II, 
1690; Queen Anne, 1705; George I, 171 7; George 
II, 1759; George III, 1760; George IV, 1820. Also 
the autograph of Queen Victoria, penciled when she 
was four years old, in 1823. There were also many 
letters from statesmen and military men from 1530 
to 1884, among them being John Bright and Glad- 
stone. The latter was born 1804; died 1898. There 



316 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

was a letter from Lord Nelson, written two days be- 
fore the great battle of Tralfagar. One from Queen 
Victoria to Miss Gordon, thanking her for a Bible she 
presented to the Queen which belonged to her broth- 
er, General Gordon. The following is a letter written 
by Oliver Cromwell to his wife, Elizabeth : 

"I praise the Lord I am increased in strength in my 
outward man, but that will not satisfy me, except I 
get a heart to love and serve my Heavenly Father bet- 
ter and get more of this light of His countenance 
which is better than life, and more power over my 
corruptions. Mind poor Betty of the Lord's great 
mercy. Oh, I desire her not only to seek the Lord in 
her necessity but in deed and in truth to turn to the 
Lord and keep close to Him." 

(Signed) Oliver Cromwell. 

Edinburgh, April 12, 1651. 

There were many cases containing a great number 
of very old and finely bound books, among them in 
the Greek manuscript being the Gospel lessons of the 
tenth century, with miniature of the four evangelists 
in colors on gold ground. There were also some of 
the earliest specimens of music, printed in different 
countries, one of them being a singing book, entitled 
"Pleasant Companion," published in 1688 by John 
Playford. 

In the gold room were a number of very costly rel- 
ics, among them being a papal ring belonging to Pope 
Pius II, 1458, A. D. ; a magnificent snuff box pre- 
sented by one of the Popes to Napoleon in 1797. 
There was a watch belonging to Oliver Cromwell, and 
a snuff box presented by Napoleon to a friend. It 
was set with twenty-eight stones, and Queen Eliza- 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 317 

beth's prayer book in gold case. There was a collec- 
tion of gold pins and napkin-rings and various 
other beautiful articles that dated back to 700 B. C. 
There was also a gold signet ring that once belonged 
to Mary, Queen of Scots. 

I found it difficult to tear myself away from the 
British Museum as well as from the South Kensing- 
ton, which also contains many interesting relics. 



318 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 



CHAPTER XXXV. 

A VISIT TO THE SLUMS OF LONDON. 

0N My former visit to London, I only paid a very 
hurried visit to its slum districts, of which I 
have heard and read so much ; but this time I 
visited the very worst parts where could be seen hun- 
dreds of human wrecks. It differs, however, very lit- 
tle from the slums of any other city, only that in this 
immense city it covers a wider scope. One Sabbath, 
after attending service at a little Baptist Church near 
where I lodged, I walked to the Whitechapel district. 
In passing along Old street, from which run a number 
of small thoroughfares, I saw a motly crowd gathered 
around a house in one of the streets. The young 
people seemed to be having a gala time. They were 
showering confetti over each other very profusely. 

"What is the cause of all this merriment?" I in- 
quired of a hard looking man, holding up one corner 
of a public house. 

"Oh, there's to be a weddin' in. yon 'ouse," he said. 

Presently a marine came along and turned down 
this street. "That's the lad that's goin' to ,be mar- 
ried," said the man. 

As soon as the crowd saw the marine, they shouted, 
"Give it to him!" and they completely covered him 
with this fancy, fine cut paper which 'they were using 
as a substitute for rice. He beat a hasty retreat into 
the little house, after which the crowd amused them- 
selves with sprinkling each other with the confetti. 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 319 

The public house on the corner did a thriving busi- 
ness, the women apparently being the best customers. 
They entered the same door with the men. They 
have no "ladies' entrance" at the public houses. The 
vast majority of these places have bar maids, many -of 
them being very fine looking girls. 

In the little while I stood there I not only saw the 
aged cross the threshold of that door, but young men 
and women and children. All through the British 
Isles the 1 public houses are open at certain hours on 
Sundays and in the evening from about 7 o'clock until 
11. They are densely crowded with both sexes and of 
all ages. Men take their wives and children into 
these places and stand at the bar and pass the little 
tots strong drink. While standing in front of a pub- 
lic house I saw a mother giving her little ones drink. 
One can quite understand the secret of the drink habit 
being so prevalent in the British Isles. The temper- 
ance element framed a bill to prohibit the sale of 
strong drink to children, but I understood before leav- 
ing England, it had been frozen out by those who care 
more for the filthy lucre than for the salvation of the 
little ones. 

A little farther along Old street, I came to the Old 
Street Parrish Church, the entrance being on a side 
street. In front of the church was another crowd. 
My curiosity led me to turn down this small street and 
learn the cause of the gathering. I was informed by 
a lad of whom I inquired that they were "waitin' for a 
weddin' party." I found myself in the midst of rather 
a rough looking class of people. One old woman 
had her Sunday marketing in her soiled apron. She 



320 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

gazed intently up the street and seemed to be anxious 
for the appearance of the "weddin' party." 

"My word, it must be near time they were comin'," 
she said to another old sister near by. 

"Eh, 'ere it comes now," she remarked, as this same 
sailor boy turned into this small street, followed by a 
number of young people who were decorating him 
with the confetti. He passed into the church and re- 
mained until he heard the rumbling of the carriage 
wheels which was bringing the bride and the best man. 
He was in readiness to escort her into the church as 
soon as she alighted from the vehicle. They passed 
in, followed by many of the crowd. 

"Are you goin' to stay until the weddin' party 
comes hout?" said a tall, gaunt woman, accompanied 
by a young man and woman, to this old sister with the 
marketing. 

"Yes," she replied, "I'm goin' to see it 'hover.' " 

"She's a fool to be marryin' that lad and be goin' 
away on a long cruise to-morrow," said the tall wo- 
man. 

"Eh, well she'll be gettin' his money and that's all 
she be wantin'." 

"Say, we're goin' over to the 'pub' for a drink," said 
the tall woman; "wait till we come back." By the 
look the old woman gave the trio, it would not have 
taken a very pressing invitation for her to have joined 
them. After slaking their thirst they joined this "old 
body" again and carried on a very amusing conversa- 
tion. 

On my way along Old street I came to another old 
church, surrounded by a graveyard, which they had 
utilized for a square. On the seats among the old 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 321 

tombs there were some of the most wretched looking 
people that one could find. There were old men and 
women, badly wrecked and just ready to sink, and 
also the middle aged, being battered about on the 
rocks and fast going to pieces and the young who had 
recently stranded. As I looked at that sad picture I 
wondered what could be done to save the oncoming 
tide of humanity from meeting the same fate. One 
woman had taken advantage of a hydrant near by 
and had her washing hanging on the churchyard fence. 
One hard looking character seemed to regard me as 
an intruder and struck a fighting attitude as I was 
passing her. A sharp look from me caused her to 
drop back a few feet. It occurred to me I had better 
seek more congenial company and passed out of the 
yard, followed by this old, modern Jezebel, who 
breathed out threatenings against me. 

A short distance from the church I met a number 
of women who had utilized their aprons and tattered 
dresses for market baskets. I was curious to know 
where they were coming from with their marketing, 
but a few minutes' walk brought me to what is known 
as "Petticoat Lane," and one would think it properly 
named as he saw the great number of those articles 
lying on the sidewalk for sale. It is a narrow street 
and on either side were barrows with fruit and vege- 
tables, while on the pavements were spread out a mis- 
cellaneous line of goods. There was second-handed 
clothing in abundance. Some of it had the appear- 
ance of being fourth-handed, or even beyond that. 
The centre of the street was densely packed with men 
and women, most of whom were badly frayed out. 

21 



322 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

"Is this Petticoat Lane?" I inquired of a policeman 
who stood at the entrance of this street. 

"This is what is called Petticoat Lane, but that is 
not the proper name," he replied. 

"Well," I said, "I have often heard of it, but the half 
was never told. I never witnessed anything like this 
on the Sabbath." 

"It is a disgrace to our city and something should 
be done to make these people observe the Sabbath," 
he remarked. 

"Do you think it would be safe to go through to the 
farther end of the street?" I inquired. 

"You will run the risk of losing your valuables. 
Very often people are robbed going through," he 
said. I concluded not to take the risk, and was con- 
tent to see the sights from a distance. 

A young man from one of the rural districts in Eng- 
land was telling me that he, in company with a friend, 
was going through Petticoat Lane one day and seeing 
a pair of trousers hanging at one of the shop doors, 
marked with the price which he considered cheap, he 
said to the proprietor : "I'll take those." 

"Will you try them on?" said this descendant of 
Jacob. 

"No ; they are the size I require," he replied. 

The man took them inside and in a few minutes 
came out with a bundle and received his seven shil- 
lings, and the lad walked away with his supposed bar- 
gain. On his arrival home, he said to his folks : 

"I have saved a few shillings to-day on a purchase I 
made." On opening the bundle to his great surprise 
mi the amusement of the family, he found a pair of 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 323 

boys' knee breeches very badly worn. This verdant 
lad had been "salted" down in fine style by "Solomon." 

In further conversation with the policeman he in- 
formed me there was another section a short distance 
away equally as bad. 

"It may be a little late to see very much now, as 
their business is usually over by this time," he said. 

"How will I reach there?" I inquired. 

"Go straight down yon street and take the third 
turning on the left," he replied. 

In following his direction "the third turning on the 
left" brought me into one of the worst parts of White- 
chapel. On either side of this narrow street were men 
and women that his Satanic Majesty had battered 
and bruised until there did not seem to be a particle 
of good timber left. When I was about half-way 
through this street I began to be very much concerned 
about the safety of Butler. There were several fel- 
lows who looked as though they were of the same 
stripe as some of whom I have read of in this district. 
They cast some very threatening glances in my direc- 
tion, which caused me to think they had some idea 
of coming across the street to divest me of my Sunday 
raiment. My eyes were steadily fixed on these lads, 
and at the same time I kept my feet moving rapidly 
in the direction of two policemen standing at the cor- 
ner of the street. 

"This is a very rough locality," I remarked to one 
of the officers. 

"Eh, but you are in the worst part of London," he 
said. "All about here are low lodging houses and 
the occupants are the very lowest type." Then he 



324 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

.38 

added: "We never think of going through here 
alone." 

"I felt rather uncomfortable as I came through that 
street," I said. 

"Well you might, for if you had not been a big fel- 
low and have kept your eye on them, they would have 
given you trouble," he replied. There were two men 
and a woman on the opposite side of the street that I 
thought would soon need the attention of these offi- 
cers. 

In calling their attention to them, I said : "You 
would have some trouble in handling that trio." 

"My word, we would, especially with the woman. 
They give more trouble than the men," he replied. 

"That has been characteristic of the sex since 
Mother Eve behaved so badly," I said. The opinion 
of a bachelor is, after years of observation, that women 
can rise higher and sink lower than men. 

A few minutes' walk from where I left the police- 
man brought me into another small street where the 
people, like those in Petticoat Lane, had either lost 
their calendar or had forgotten the commandment in 
reference to the Sabbath. The little shops, as well as 
the lads with their barrows with fruit and vegetables, 
were doing a thriving business. In passing down the 
centre of the street I overtook a very rustic looking 
man and boy taking in the sights of the city. 

"This is a bad section of the city," I remarked to the 
man in passing. 

"Eh, my word, but it's a knocker," he replied in 
broad English. "But say," he added, "it's a cheap 
place to get a dinner. We just got hall we could heat 
for a sixpence. I'll show you the place if you like," 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 32S 

"Thank you," I replied, "I will not take the time to 
stop now." I should have had to wait a long time to 
have had edge enough on my appetite to have hidden 
anything away in one of those little, dingy restaurants. 
We passed a barrow on which were sliced watermelon. 
It was the first I had seen since leaving America as 
they are not grown in the British Isles. They have a 
melon which they get from Spain and the South of 
France which they consider very fine, but it was rather 
insipid to my taste, being accustomed to the luscious 
red melon grown in many of the states. 

"What's that stuff?" said the man. 

"It's watermelon," I replied. 

"My word, but I never saw it before. It's a queer 
lot," he said. 

I left my rustic acquaintance and his boy still looking 
at the sights and made my way back to Russel Square, 
not soon to forget my visit to the slums. 

One Sunday afternoon in company with Mr. Hall, 
of Waterville, Maine, I visited a large mission school 
in Spitalfields, which joins the Whitechapel district, 
This mission is under the direction of the Society of 
Friends and was organized by them many years ago. 
They have accomplished a vast amount of good in that 
district. There was a very large attendance, and 
most of the scholars were neatly clad and gave strict 
attention to the speaker. At the close of the session 
the superintendent took us through some of the small 
streets in the vicinity. When the children saw him 
coming they ran up to him, some taking him by the 
hand and others laid hold on his coat tail and ex- 
pressed themselves as being glad to see him. 

"There will be a very odd little fellow come out of 



326 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

one of these houses when he hears the tumult," said 
the superintendent. "You will smile when you see 
how he is dressed." 

We did more than smile when we saw this odd little 
bundle of humanity come bounding out of the house 
wearing a queer looking cap with a faded union jack 
tied about his neck and a huge pair of trousers, held 
up on one side by a string which he had utilized for 
a suspender and which was shortened so that the trous- 
ers also answered for a shirt. He began jumping 
backwards and shouted the name of the superintend- 
ent. 

"That is the way that little fellow always greets 
me," said the superintendent. "He is a bright boy 
and with proper training would make a fine man." 

The parents of the children showed profound re- 
spect for this gentleman and his fellow-worker. One 
of the mission workers was a friend of mine and a 
nephew of Rev. Chas. Bowden, who also was inter- 
ested in that mission when a young man. His mother, 
who was an influential member of the Society of 
Friends, could go into any part of that district without 
fear of being molested. 

SOME OF THE LONDON MARKETS. 

The Smithfield meat market is the largest in the 
world. It is on the grounds once used for the revels, 
miracle plays and tournaments of Bartholomew fair, 
and later for the martyrdom of "Bloody Mary" and 
Elizabeth. As one walks through this immense mar- 
ket, which covers three and a half acres under roof, 
and sees the great quantity of meat, he wonders how 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD." 327 

they manage to dispose of it. But the six millions of 
Londoners and heavy sprinkling of Yankees with 
keen edges on their appetites, soon clear the old mar- 
ket. The vast majority of the cattle is shipped from 
our own great stock raising country. The Covent 
Garden, flower and vegetable market, is well worth a 
visit. Several times I have gone through this market 
on my way to Maiden Lane to call at the business 
house of a friend formerly of America. One day I 
stopped in this market and watched a number of wo- 
men hulling walnuts. They used their fingers dexter- 
ously. Standing near me was a rough looking fellow 
in company with a woman that matched him nicely. 
He was trying to guy the women but they could 
use their tongues as rapidly as their fingers and passed 
him out the ready change. One of the women called 
to the woman with this fellow and said : 

"Say, Liz, con't you come down here and do a bit 
of work?" 

"Eh, but Liz con't work," the man replied. 

"She can pick 'ops in Kent," called out another wo- 
man. 

"She con't even do that," he said, "but she can 
drink what is made of the 'ops," and added: "Con't 
you Liz?" She assented with a nod and joined in the 
laugh with the hullers. He turned to me and said: 

"Con't you give me a threpenc or so to get coffee 
for these old gals? They have been workin' since 
early this mornin'." I did not contribute anything, 
for I thought that he and his companion and many of 
the "old gals" had the appearance of taking some- 
thing stronger than coffee. I remained watching the 
"old gals" until some of them began passing out re- 



328 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

marks to me that were badly frayed out and I thought 
it wise to beat a hasty retreat. 

The Billingsgate fish market is also considered the 
largest fish market in the world. One would think so, 
as he passes through this place and sees the great 
quantities of fish of various kinds that are unloaded 
daily from the steamers near by. I watched with in- 
terest the men wearing odd looking leather hats on 
which they carried the large trays of fish. I saw im- 
mense quantities of shrimp. Baked shrimp seemed 
to be a favorite dish with many of the Londoners. I 
did not acquire an appetite for them or the cockels 
that I have sometimes had set before me. The crabs 
are of extraordinary size. One of the fish mongers 
gave me the shell of one of them which I brought 
home with me. 

"Does Mr. S — live here?" I inquired of a woman 
at the door of a house in East London. 

"No, sir," was her reply, "and it must be sometime 
since he did, for we have lived here for several years." 

"Well, I have a message for him from friends : in 
America and this is the address they gave me," I said. 

"They may be able to give some account of him at 
yon grocery shop, for they have lived in this locality 
many years," she replied. It occurred to me if the 
proprietor was as old as the shop apeared to be, he 
could tell me of those that lived in that neighborhood 
a century ago. There was a woman attending the 
shop who proved to be a regular bureau of informa- 
tion. She not only gave me the gentleman's address, 
but also of other relatives of my friends in America. 
In directing me she said in broad English : "Go to the 



a Yankee bachelor abroad. 329 

bottom of yon street and take the first turning on the 
left." 

I found my way to the number given and knocked 
at the door of this home. It was answered by a very 
refined little woman who, on learning my errand, in- 
vited me in to await the coming of her husband. On 
entering the parlor I was introduced to her daughter 
and son-in-law who were persons with whom one 
could at once feel at home. When her husband ar- 
rived and he learned there was a Yankee in the parlor 
with a message from America, he was not long in mak- 
ing his appearance and listened with rapt attention as 
I talked of the friends far away. 

"Uncle left London many years ago, when I was a 
little boy, but I have heard father and mother speak of 
him so often, I have always kept up my interest in him 
and his family," he remarked. 

"Were you ever through the Thames Subway?" he 
inquired as I was about leaving. 

"No," I replied, "but should be pleased to go 
through." § • 1 \ 

"My son-in-law and I will accompany you if you 
wish to go home that way," he said. We walked 
down along the great East India docks and to several 
other places of interest and finally took seats on top 
of a 'bus and rode through the subway. It was walled 
up for some distance from the entrance. It was very 
brilliantly lighted by electricity which had a very fine 
effect on the light colored glazed brick arch. One 
could scarcely realize he was down beneath the river 
Thames on whose bosom were sailing crafts of various 
kinds. I concluded if anything gave way above we 
would receive our final shower bath. 



330 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

On coming out of the subway we rode down 
through Greenwich which is also a very old and his- 
toric place. There is a very large hospital here for 
aged and disabled seamen of the royal navy. It is 
built on the site of the old palace where Henry VIII 
was born and where he and Anne Boelyn joined 
hands in matrimony. Edward VI died in this old 
palace. We saw a number of old weather-beaten ma- 
rines who, from their appearance, had given the good 
old Queen excellent service. When we reached the 
point where I was to take a 'bus for Westminster, the 
gentleman said : "Before you go I would like to take 
you through this old church." 

I readily consented for I was always interested in 
visiting these old edifices. After spending some time 
with them in looking through this church and grave- 
yard with its many ancient tombs, I bade them adieu 
and seated myself on the top of another 'bus and was 
soon making my way to Westminster. We were de- 
layed some time in waiting for a parade to pass, of 
which I had a good view from my lofty seat. A man 
sitting beside me began a conversation with me, 
through which he wove many threads of complaint. 

"The tide of misfortune," he said, "has swept me 
over on the hard side of life and but for my good wife 
and children I would soon end the whole thing." I 
did my best to induce him to relight the "Lantern 
of Hope" by telling him of the better life. 

"Oh, sir, that subject is as dark to me as midnight," 
he said in a sad tone of voice. 

"It was to me at one time," I replied. 

"I wish I could think as you do," he remarked, as 
he was leaving the 'bus. 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAt). 33* 

From the Westminster Bridge I walked to my 
lodgings at Russel Square. It was a long walk, but it 
gave me an opportunity of seeing something of Lon- 
don life by gas light. What a variety of characters 
swept along the crowded thoroughfares. Some at- 
tired in clothing of the latest style, bedecked with 
flashy diamonds, and others whose taste or purse did 
not call for anything quite so loud, and others who, if 
they had seen better days, had been carried by some 
strong current to a stage where even common cloth- 
ing was a scarcity. One day as I wended my way 
through the different sections of the city I made a 
note of some of the odd names of the streets. St. 
Mary's Axe, Bull's Head Passage, Hounds' Ditch, 
Stoney Lane, Black Gravel Lane, Harrow Alley, 
Brushfield Street, Acorn Street, Skinner Street, Spital 
Square, White Lion Street, Plough Yard, Curtain 
Street, Puddin Lane, Pie Corner, Milk Street, Bread 
Street, Love Lane, Threadneedle Street. It amused 
me one day as we came to what is called the Elephant 
and Castle on the Surry side to hear the conductor 
shout in the door with his broad English accent, "Ele- 
phant and Costle." Many of the districts have pecu- 
liar names. One of them was "Mother Shipton." 
The streets of London are not laid out with any regu- 
larity and strangers have some difficulty in finding 
their way about. 



332 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 



CHAPTER XXXVI. 

MY TRIP TO PARIS. 

IT was on the eve of the August bank holiday when 
I returned from Dublin to London. While 
many of the Londoners had arranged for a day's 
plesure in and around the city, I had planned a trip to 
Paris. But, alas, when the day dawned the sun was 
hidden by dark, lowering clouds and the wind was 
blowing fiercely. In a short time the clouds shook 
great sheets of water down over the city which was 
swept by the wind in all directions until one found an 
umbrella a useless article. My trip to Paris had been 
postponed from time to time and now I found myself 
with only a few remaining days previous to sailing for 
home and, in order to return in time for the steamer, 
was obliged to go that evening. The English chan- 
nel, I was quite sure, was greatly disturbed, for it, like 
the Irish sea, is easily excited, which I had just crossed. 
But rather than leave for America without seeing 
Paris, which I had always heard spoken of as the finest 
city in the world, I concluded to undergo the severe 
pummeling that I was sure I would receive from this 
old body of water. When the storm abated "a wee 
bit" I turned my steps toward Cook's office at Ludgate 
Circus to purchase my ticket. 

On my way I passed a lady and gentleman whom, 
at a glance, I knew were Americans, and I wondered 
from what part of Uncle Sam's great country they 
hailed. Shortly after my arrival at the office, they 







A TYPICAL FRENCH TOWN. 
Sketched by Chas. K. Wood, of I land Heights, N. J., in 1897. 



334 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

entered. She came up to me and said : "This is Mr. 
Butler, is it not?" 

"It is," I replied, "but you have the advantage of 
me." 

Just then the gentleman stepped up and said : "This 
is Mr. and Mrs. D — , and reside in the same city in 
which you do and I have frequently seen you." 

Alhough I had no recollection of ever seeing their 
faces before, yet I was wonderfully pleased to meet 
this excellent man and his wife whom I have since 
come to know. They were the only ones I had met 
from my city during my absence of fourteen months. 
In making some inquiry about the accommodation 
on the steamer of the clerk in the office, he said : 

"Take my advice and buy a first class ticket, for you 
will need the very best this evening for comfort." 

"Do you think it will be very bad, crossing?" I in- 
quired. 

"I should not care to be crossing," he replied. His 
remark rather unsettled me, but I soon dismissed the 
thought of. abandoning the trip. On going to the 
reading room connected with the office, which seemed 
to be one of the headquarters for Americans, I said to 
a young man who had several American papers gath- 
ered about him : "Is there a Philadelphia paper among 
those?" 

"No, sir," he replied, "but here is a London paper. 
I should think that was low enough for you." 

"Oh," I said, "I presume you are from New York." 

"No, I am from California," he replied. 

"I was not aware that Philadelphia's reputation for 
slowness was so far reaching," and added : "She may 
not keep pace with her tall sisters, New York and Chi- 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 335 

cago, along some lines, but for beauty and comforta- 
ble homes cannot be excelled." 

The storm was raging with renewed force and the 
small streets in the section I passed through to shorten 
my distance to Russell Square were filled with men 
and women who were celebrating bank holiday in fine 
style. While the elements had dampened the exter- 
ior, many of them had moistened the interior with 
"'alf and 'alf." The publicans were well satisfied with 
the state of the weather, for the shillings that would 
have otherwise gone into the coffers of the railroad 
and seamboat companies were dropped into their tills. 
Among the drenched pieces of humanity on one of 
these streets were three women who had imbibed an 
article that made them rather hilarious. Two of them 
were elderly women and the other was middle-aged. 
The latter would break out and sing a song, then vary 
it with a song and dance. The other two old dames 
would gather up their mud-besprinkled dresses and 
join in the hop. 

A young woman of respectable appearance came up 
to one of the elderly women and said : "Mother, come 
home." 

"Eh, child, leave your mother alone. We are h'out 
for a good time," said the younger woman. The 
daughter semed to be quite ashamed of her mother's 
conduct and finally left the trio. They started down 
the street with locked arms. One of them held an 
old umbrella over them. It was so full of rents that it 
rendered them but little service. As I stood on the 
corner of one of those streets and saw the crowds 
pouring into the public houses and then later on, in 
going to the station and meeting very many of the pa- 



336 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

trons of these places, I concluded the publicans were 
the principal ones that were benefitted by bank holi- 
day, especially so if it proved to be a stormy day. If 
England does not soon use some measure to stay the 
tide of intemperance, she will become a nation of 
drunkards. 

Sitting in front of me in the omnibus on my way to 
London Bridge station, where I was to take the train 
for New Haven, was a little, hen-pecked looking man 
and a woman of considerable size. He wagged his 
tongue at a very rapid rate and she tried to quiet him, 
but failed. She gave him a sharp look and said: 
"Hauld yer tongue." 

He replied in broad English, "Eh, h'old woman; 
it's bank 'oliday and I'm h'out for a good time." 

She scowled at him and again bade him be quiet. 
That look, I presume, would have been sufficient to 
have quieted the old lad but for the heavy cargo of 
'"alf and 'alf" he had imbibed. 

"Hold woman," he said, in a way that amused the 
passengers and caused a faint smile to play over the 
face of his old woman, "ye may quiet a man's tongue 
but ye con't never get a woman's still." But the opin- 
ion of the passengers was that she was having as much 
trouble with her loquacious old lad as she would with 
one of her own sex. 

At the station I engaged in conversation with two 
young men who informed me they were from Water- 
bury, Connecticut, and were en route for Paris, and 
the following Saturday were to embark for New York 
from Cherbourg on the St. Louis. 

"You will have me for a fellow passenger, if the old 
channel does not treat me too roughly," I remarked. 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 337 

"This is a wild storm in which to cross," said one of 
them, "but there is nothing to do but to face it." 

Near us were two women and a boy. We soon 
learned the boy was a Yankee. In conversation with 
him he informed us he was from New York and was 
in company with his mother and aunt. The latter 
lived in Cork, and they were all on their way to Paris. 

"Do yees think it will be bad goin' over to-night?" 
she inquired, and when I informed her I thought it 
would, there was a look took possession of her face 
that I read as wishing she was in Cork. We were soon 
hurrying away to New Haven and on our arrival found 
the storm even more severe than when we left Lon- 
don. The wind was sighing through the rigging, 
making a very hideous sound, and as a louder blast 
swept over the craft a desire took hold of me to step 
ashore. The table was in readiness for the hungry 
passengers, but most of them were in the same frame 
of mind we were and did not lay in an extra stock for 
Neptune. Three Irish fellows secured berths near us. 
One of them was full of wit and fun and kept his com- 
panions in a roar of laughter. 

"Och, sure, we'll get a batterin' to-night," he re- 
marked, and added : "I'll give the captain a pound note 
if he'll make me unconscious until I get to France." 

"You will be very conscious before reaching there," 
I replied. Just previous to leaving the wharf, one of 
the waiters removed everything that was breakable 
and fastened the dead lights securely. Then evidently 
believing we would be liberal to Neptune, he pre- 
sented us with what I styled "individual contribution 
boxes." 

"You need not leave one with me," I remarked. 



22 



338 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

"I shall not contribute anything this evening to the 
cause." 

"Just keep it, sir ; you'll be needin' it before the voy- 
age is h'over," he replied. 

When he gave the witty Irish fellow his contribu- 
tion box he said, in a way that made us all laugh heart- 
ily : "Take that away and bring me a barrel." 

His berth was just above mine and I remarked to 
him: "Don't be too free with your decorations; re- 
member the tall Yankee below." 

He leaned over the side of his berth and said: "I 
pity ye." 

Only a short time after our steamer left the wharf I 
joined my fellow passengers in an acrobatic exhibi- 
tion. Our craft rolled over on her side and went 
down until my tall form was perpendicular. As I 
saw my feet far above my head and we still descend- 
ing, I thought I would much rather be using my feet 
walking the streets of London than to be gazing at 
them in the top of the berth, and I regretted very 
much that they had carried me to Cook's office. In 
spite of my serious thoughts and very sober feelings, I 
laughed as our ship righted herself and I caught sight 
of the countenance of a man sitting on a sofa near my 
berth. He evidently found no poetry in that song, 
entitled "A life on the Ocean Wave." In a short time 
he led off in a solo which was followed by a chorus, 
in which all the passengers joined. There were many 
discordant notes, but there were no critics present. 
One of the Yankees, whose berth was beside mine, 
said very faintly: "Neighbor, how are you making 
out?" 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 339 

"Oh, I am busy extracting the juice of a lemon and 
still holding my own," I replied. 

"Oh, my, this is dreadful ; I wish I was ashore." 

"I think I shall have to pay my respects to Nep- 
tune," said his brother, and he did it with groanings 
that were uttered loudly. The Irish lads had ceased 
to pass out their Irish wit and were engaged in look- 
ing over their accounts. When my "partner in dis- 
tress" beside me again asked the question as to my 
condition, my answer was not so favorable as at first. 
The lemon had slipped from my grasp and in my at- 
tempt to secure it, lost my balance and laid violent 
hands on my little "contribution box" and "lifted up 
my voice and cried aloud and spared not." It amused 
me very much as I saw the Yankee near me making 
a great effort to be generous. 

"Oh, my, I wish I had a glass of water," he said. 

"Call the steward. He will get it for you," I re- 
plied. 

"Oh, I can't," he replied faintly. 

"Well, I have a second-handed lemon rolling about 
in my berth; will you have it?" 

"Oh, I'll take anything," was his answer. 

In my attempt to do the good Samaritan act, an- 
other fit of generosity took possession of me and this 
time I gave until I felt it keenly. 

The Yankee called out and said, "I shall have to be 
carried out on a stretcher to-morrow morning. If I 
ever get back to America I shall remain there." But 
when the morning dawned and we found ourselves in 
the quiet harbor of Dieppe, he sprang from his berth 
and without any assistance hurried ashore. Someone 



340 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD. 

remarked to one of the ladies that the ship had struck 
something. 

"Oh, I hope she has and goes down," was her reply. 
Upon coming on deck I met the two Irish women and 
the boy. 

"How did you make out last night?" I inquired. 

The woman from Cork said: "Make out? Why, I 
niver put in such a night in me life. I wouldn't come 
agin for twinty pounds." 

If I was caught again in such a storm I thought I 
would loose "twinty pounds" in avoirdupois. The 
sailors said they never experienced such a severe 
storm. The English papers stated "That Britain's 
sons usually ruled the waves, but in the fearful storm 
of last night the waves ruled them." I remarked to 
the lads that some of Uncle Sam's boys were badly 
treated. We learned on landing that our steamer 
was the only one that left England for France and 
only one left there for England, and that our voyage 
was attended with great clanger. 

EN ROUTE TO PARIS. 

At the restaurant at Dieppe we had some difficulty 
in making the waiters understand our wants, but after 
getting a light breakfast they had no trouble in fixing 
the price for our scant meal. Dieppe is a summer re- 
sort and is a town of considerable size. The houses 
were built principally of light colored stone. There 
is an old castle, built in 1433, and a very ancient 
church called St. Jacques, who was patron saint of 
fishermen. 

We had very little time to see much of the old town, 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD 341 

The train was in readiness near the landing to convey 
us to Paris. In further conversation with the Irish 
fellows, I learned that two of them were the nephews 
of a Belfast friend and that I had met one of the 
members of their family at their uncle's home. They 
invited me to accompany them to Paris, as did the 
Yankees. We passed through a very pretty section 
of the country where my attention was attracted by 
the many little vegetable farms. There were long nar- 
row strips of various kinds of vegetables growing, 
which we all considered a very odd way of farming. 
There was also an absence of fences. The train 
stopped at several towns and villages, the names of 
which the guard called, but we made no attempt to 
repeat the name. There were none of us who had 
made a study of French, and if we had, might have 
been like many others who, when they came to put it 
to a practical use in France, found their French quite 
different from what is spoken there. We passed 
through quite a portion of the city before reaching 
the station. It reminded me of Brussels, which is 
said to be Paris on a small scale. When I came out 
into the streets of Paris it was with a different feeling 
than when I visited Antwerp and Brussels. There I 
was entirely alone and had very little use for my 
tongue, for I could not be understood only by mo- 
tions. When I attempted to talk with the people they 
would elevate their hands and shake their heads and 
pass on, leaving me wondering what I should do. 

At the station we took a 'bus and rode out to Cook's 
hotel, near the Exhibition grounds. It was a long- 
ride, but it afforded us an opportunity of seeing the 
city. 



342 A YANKEE BAOHELO'R ABROAD 

"Look at those Frenchmen scowling at us," said 
one of the Irish fellows. "They have no love for 
English speaking people and especially the English." 

There was a strong feeling against England, and 
many of the French papers bitterly denounced the 
Queen and her government. The cartoon of the 
Queen in the papers were a very great insult to the 
English people. 

There were a great many Americans at the hotel, 
and as I gathered with them in and around the read- 
ing room and heard their "Yankee twang," it semed 
I had suddenly dropped down in America. They 
were from the various parts of the United States, but 
I felt akin to all of them. There is a kindred feeling 
seems to take possession of one as he meets one of 
Uncle Sam's subjects in a distant land, and when he 
sees the Stars and Stripes flung to the breeze, he feels 
inclined to stand under Old Glory and sing the "Star 
Spangled Banner." 

When we came out of the hotel grounds on our way 
to the Exposition, we were beseiged by women and 
men selling souvenirs and exhibition tickets. These 
tickets we purchased at a very low figure. As we only 
expected to remain a short time in Paris, we passed 
through the Exposition very hurriedly. The grounds 
were beautifully laid out and there were many fine 
large buildings. The Exhibition was quite similar to 
others I had attended, but I was quite interested in 
looking at the products of the different countries, ar- 
tistically arranged, and the latest improved machin- 
ery and various kinds of exhibits that were placed be- 
side those of the long ago. In passing some Amer- 
icans, X overheard them say "Our World's Fair at 



A YANKEE BAldHELOR ABROAD 343 

Chicago far surpassed this." As I did not attend that 
Fair at Chicago, I was not able to make any compar- 
isons. When I discovered the Stars and Stripes I 
said to the Irish lads : "That department will interest 
me." They were also greatly interested in the pro- 
ducts of our wonderful country and especially so in the 
agricultural department, where there was a fine dis- 
play. They regarded the Indian corn on the cob a 
curiosity, having never seen it in that form. 

"There are two Yankees," I remarked as a gentle- 
man and lady approached us. 

"Do you think so?" one of the lads replied. 

"Yes, and I will soon demonstrate it to you." 
When they came over where we were standing, I said 
to them: 

"Excuse me, but I think I can hail you as my fellow 
countryman, as I am a native of America." 

"Indeed you can, sir, and we are proud of our dear 
old country," he replied. 

"I told these young men when I saw you coming 
into the department you were Americans." The lit- 
tle woman looked up into my face and "said in a very 
emphatic manner : 

"Yes, we are Americans from the crown of our 
heads to the soles of our feet, and from the soles of 
our feet to the crown of our heads, and we will be glad 
to again see home." 

"In what part of the country do you live?" I in- 
quired. 

"Kingston, N. Y.," he replied. "We sail for New 
York on Saturday on the St. Louis." 

To my surprise, when I went to my stateroom on 
the St. Louis, I found this same little man I met at the 



344 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD 

Exposition was to be one of my room-mates. He 
proved to be a very excellent man and before we 
landed in New York I had added to my list of friends 
he and his good wife. 

"My, but you Yankees do rave over your country 
and flag," said one of the Irish lads. 

"Well, I can't describe to you the feeling that takes 
possession of every true American when he catches 
sight of Old Glory or speaks of his country. Your 
love for Old Ireland and the Union Jack will give you 
some idea," I replied. 

We spent the greater part of the day in the Expo- 
sition and in the evening visited the Kaffir village and 
the Transvaal building. As we walked through the 
miniature streets of the village and peeped into the 
little huts and saw the Kaffars living as they do in their 
far-off country, one could almost imagine himself 
there. In passing one of these little huts we saw one 
of the women reclining on a rude looking bed, puffing 
on a pipe, and near her was a little bundle of un- 
bleached humanity, having the appearance of being a 
new arrival. One of the young Kaffirs, wearing a 
white robe, spoke to me in broken English. I 
stopped and had a brief conversation with him. Just 
before leaving him, he said : 

"Me a Christian. A missionary came to Africa; 
he tell me about Christ." 

Before leaving the building we concluded the beg- 
ging qualities of the women and children had reached 
perfection. The childrens' clothing was made of very 
scant patterns. We climbed the stairway leading to 
the Transvaal building. There were a company of 
men and women giving an exhibition of Boer life. 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD 345 

As we came near the stand on which were seated the 
band, composed principally of men from the Trans- 
vaal, they scowled at us and made remarks to each 
other. 

"They think we are English," I remarked. 

"Sure, if they find out we are Irish, they will scowl 
more than ever," said one of the lads, "for the Irish sol- 
diers have done them lots of damage in South Africa." 

We seemed to be about the only English speaking 
people in the building. The lads became interested 
in another part of the building and I remained near 
the stand. During the intermission some of the mem- 
bers of the band came over near me and as I turned 
around quickly, caught one of them making war-like 
gestures. 
'"Do you speak English?" I inquired of one of them. 

"Some little," he replied in broken English. "What 
country are you from?" he asked. 

"I am from America," I replied. His countenance 
quickly changed and he said with a smile : 

"That is the country. The Americans are our 
friends. Our band is expecting to go over there 
some time soon," and added : "When we saw you fel- 
lows, we thought you were English and had no use 
for you." 

"We saw by your countenance you were not pleased 
with our company," I replied. 

"No, we want nothing to do with the English," he 
said. I did not tell them the three fellows with me 
were fresh from the Old Sod. A young man engaged 
in conversation with me who informed me that he was 
engaged with this company during the Exhibition and 
said his home was in l^Iew York, but he had left there 



346 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABR^D 

several years ago with a theatrical troupe and had been 
"knocking" about ever since. He was a very intelli- 
gent fellow. 

"You are not filling the niche for which you were 
intended," I said to him. 

"I am aware of that, sir," he replied. "Many times 
I think I will return home and try to get a good sit- 
uation and make something of myself." I left him 
hoping his resolutions were made of lasting material. 

The following day the Irish chaps went to a point 
near Paris and I sallied forth to the city, as I was to 
leave that evening for London. In riding through 
the city on top of one of the trams, I met a gentleman 
from America who had been living in Paris for some 
time. He gave me some points of interest about the 
city and on coming to one of the magnificent boule- 
vards, he said : 

"If you get off here you will find several interesting 
places in this section." 

A few minutes' walk along this beautiful thorough- 
fare brought me to one of the public buildings. It 
was a massive structure, having the appearance of 
being built for a century. 

"What building is this?" I inquired of several per- 
sons, but the only answer I received was the shrug of 
their shoulders and the lifting of their hands. I soon 
found my tongue was a useless member in the midst 
of my French brothers and sisters. After a hurried 
visit to this building I came out on to one of the busi- 
ness centres where there were many elegant stores. 
Upon entering one of the stores to make a purchase 
I prepared myself to make my wants known by signs, 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD 347 

but to my great surprise the young lady asked me in 
English, "What do you wish?" 

My wanderings brought me to an immense church 
called St. Magdalene. It is said to be one of the 
finest edifices in Paris. There was a funeral service 
being held in the church, which I witnessed. It was 
some prominent person, judging from the great con- 
course of people and service. There was a procession 
of priests marching around the remains, chanting the 
funeral ceremony. There were floral designs in 
abundance, so much so that when the coffin was 
placed in the hearse, they hung some of the designs 
on the outside. After the service I was interested in 
looking about this massive structure. On the grand 
altar is the assumption in white marble and also a paint- 
ing of Magdalene at the feet of Christ. In the colon- 
ade are niches containing figures of saints. This 
church is 330 feet by 130 feet. On the bronzed doors 
are subjects from the Old Testament. In a part of 
the city which seemed to be very old there was a 
very quaint market. In passing the stores, I 
seemed to attract the attention of the odd-looking 
market people and their customers. They evidently 
took me for an Englishman, for their looks were not 
of a very friendly kind. Their love for their neighbors 
across the channel has never been very warm and re- 
cently it seems to have been greatly chilled for reasons 
best known to themselves. In going down one of the 
large boulevards I came to a seat arranged in front of 
one of the large stores. A lady and little boy took a 
seat beside me and began a conversation in English. 

"Excuse me," I said, "but I am glad to hear some 
one speaking English," 



348 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD 

"Yes, I am from Old England," she replied, "and I 
am proud of it. I am very indignant at two French- 
men in yonder store. They thought I did not under- 
stand French and made some very insulting remarks 
about me being English. I gave them a piece of my 
mind." 

If she was as fluent in French as she was in her own 
language, there was a small chance of the French- 
men defending themselves. 

"They have insulted our dear old Queen and be- 
haved very badly to us as a nation," she further re- 
marked. "If they keep on we will have to thrash 
them." 

It occurred to me if the people were all in the same 
frame of mind as was this woman, it would not be long 
before there would be the smoke of battle seen on the 
English channel. A short walk from this point 
brought me to the English and American quarters, 
in which were many large and handsome stores. The 
familiar names on the signs gave me rather a home- 
like feeling. 

On my way to the Exposition I called at a restau- 
rant to look after the wants of the inner man. Not 
one of the waiters could understand English and my 
knowledge of French consisted of just two words, and 
they were not such as would give them any light as to 
what I wished. Not until I had used my index finger 
several times in pointing to some articles of food did 
I succeed in getting the edge taken off of my appetite. 
On coming into the Exposition grounds at another 
point I had a better idea of them and greatly admired 
their beauty. While in the Art Gallery I met a young 
German who proved to be a very interesting fellow. 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD 349 

In the course of our conversation he informed me he 
had been living in London for some time, but was on 
his way back to Germany to serve in the army the re- 
quired time to retain his citizenship. He talked very 
enthusiastically of his country and said he wondered 
why England and America were not more closely al- 
lied to Germany. 

"Well," I replied, "England and America speak the 
same language and are practically our own people, 
and you know you can get closer in feelings to one of 
whom you can express yourself." 

"Well, I suppose that is the reason," he said. 

"You seem to be alone. I would be glad to have 
you accompany me through the Exhibition." 

"I should enjoy it all the more having company," 
he replied. 

On coming to one of the refreshment stands we 
saw a large glass vessel in which was a tempting look- 
ing drink. Seeing the lemons floating on the surface 
I thought it was something in my line and invited 
him to take a glass with me. 

"No thank you," he said; "I don't care for it." 

Neither did I when I took one sip, which I quickly 
got rid of. 

"What sort of a drink is that," I asked. 

He laughed and said, "It is a concoction of licorice 
and lemon." 

My taste was not French enough to again call for 
that beverage. We came to another refreshment 
stand and called for milk. He understood French 
and inquired the price. When the girl informed him 
he turned to me and giving the amount, said : 

"You surely will not pay that much for it?" 



350 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD 

"Well, we must have it," I replied; "but tell her we 
could almost buy the cow in America for that." 

There was a look of contempt on her face as she 
said : "And in England, too." 

After he had interpreted her remark, he said : "They 
charge you Americans and English people a great deal 
more than the people of the continent." 

The afternoon was spent very pleasantly with this 
bright, intelligent German. 

I met the Irish fellows again and we took tea to- 
gether at a restaurant near Cook's hotel. "This is 
strange kind of meat," I remarked to the lads. 

One of them said : "Sure, they tell me they eat horse 
meat in Paris and I think this is a piece of animal that's 
done a bit of hard work." 

My suspicion was strong enough for me to leave 
most of the piece of the old "nag" for the proprietor 
to utilize for hash. 

When I bade the Irish lads good-bye they said : 
"You may see us in America some time." 

"Come along, boys ; there is lots of room for such as 
you," I replied. 

I have so often heard of the gaiety of Paris by gas 
light, but one can never know until he walks its streets 
and sees the great multitude of people whose sole ob- 
ject seems to be to find the gay side of life. In front 
of the cafes are little gardens in which can be seen men 
and women sitting around the tables sipping wine 
and other strong drinks. I saw very little drunken- 
ness though, in the parts of the city I passed through 
on my way to the station. There were many places of 
interest in Paris I desired to visit but was obliged to 
hasten back to London. Among the most interest- 




RUINS OF A FRENCH CASTLE. 
Sketched by Chas K. Wood, of Island Heights, N. J„ in 1897, 



352 A YANiKEE BACHELOR ABROAD 

ing was Notre Dame, the cathedral of the Archbishop 
of Paris, built in 1163. It is 417 feet long, 156 feet 
wide, no feet high. In the revolution in 1793 the 
church was converted into a "Temple of Reason." 
Another place was Palisade Justice and the prison of 
the Conciergerie where Marie Antoinette and so many 
other victims of the revolution were imprisoned. The 
Palais du Luxembourg, built 161 5, and Palais Royal 
and also Bois de Boulogne, which is the chief park in 
Paris. It comprises a tract of 2250 acres. I also re- 
gretted not to be able to take one of the many steam- 
ers that run to points along the River Seine. On my 
return from Dieppe to New Haven, I found the chan- 
nel had calmed down and treated me very kindly. 
The daylight ride from New Haven to London gave 
me an opportunity to see that beautiful section of Old 
Engfland. 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD 353 



CHAPTER XXXVII. 
LEAVING OLD ENGLAND. 

0N my arrival in London from Canterbury the 
day previous to sailing for home I was kept 
busy making my final arrangements for my 
homeward trip and bidding adieu to my London 
friends. One of them living at South Croyden, a sub- 
urb of London, expressed himself as being desirous of 
going back to America. He had spent several 
months in the United States and had a very warm feel- 
ing for the country. I think he would have been con- 
tent to have spent the rest of his life under the shadow 
of "Old Glory." My luggage had been transferred 
to the Waterloo< station, so that when the day dawned 
there was nothing to be done but to hie away to the 
station. 

Before the busy feet of the multitudes were pressing 
the streets of this wonderful city I wended my way 
from Russell Square along Southampton Row and 
down through Great Queen street and out to the 
Strand to Waterloo bridge. A short walk from the 
bridge brought me to the station in which I found a 
great number of people from various parts of the world 
with their odd belongings awaiting to be transferred 
to the steamer. Some of them had very sad faces 
and seemed to regard very seriously leaving the old 
home. Others were well advanced in life and it oc- 
curred to me it was doubly hard for them to bid adieu 



23 



354 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD 

to old friends and take the voyage of 3,000 miles to 
make a new home in a strange land. 

One of my friends had presented me with a tin 
trunk, in which I had placed my belongings. Those 
who saw it, securely fastened with an abundance of 
rope, evidently thought it was the property of some 
one from a rural district, en route for Yankee Land. 

"Porter, come take my luggage to the van," could 
be heard on every hand. These men with their trucks 
were kept busy, but not too busy to tarry a few min- 
utes for the fee that one is expected to give them. 
They seemed to be reaping a harvest of coppers. 

One is supposed to look after his own luggage when 
traveling in the British Isles, as they have not as yet 
adopted the checking system such as we have in 
America. Any one disposed to, can claim your lug- 
gage if you are not at the van to look after it. 

One morning on coming into Liverpool from Bel- 
fast in company with a friend, I had the vexing ex- 
perience of losing my luggage. My friend, who was 
a resident of Belfast, made frequent business trips to 
London and other points in England. I was en route 
for Northampton and he was going to Stafford to join 
me later at the former place. He was confident that 
he needed no information as to stations or trains. As 
we seated ourselves in the 'bus that met the steamer, 
I said to him : 

"You had better inquire whether this takes us to the 
right station." 

"You just make yourself easy," he replied; "we 
Irish always know where we are going." 

"We Yankees generally know, and if we have any 
doubt we have sense enough to inquire," I said. 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD 355 

- : He smiled complacently and said : "There's no need 
of any questions about it." On reaching the station 
we seated ourselves in the compartment, he with a 
great deal of assurance and I a "wee bit" uncertain. 

"Show your tickets," said the conductor, as he 
boarded the train a few minutes before leaving. 
When he saw my friend's ticket, he said in a very ex- 
cited manner: 

"Get off at once; you are on the wrong road," and 
as he did so, grasped my portmanteau along with my 
friend's and hurriedly left the compartment, followed 
by my crest-fallen friend. 

"I am going to Northampton," I said to the con- 
ductor as he alighted from the moving train. 

"You're all right," he replied. 

Immediately I missed my traveling bag and shouted 
to my friend to take it in charge. When I gathered 
myself together it occurred to me if my friend was on 
the wrong road, I was too, for our tickets were for the 
same line. When the train slowed up at Edge Hill, 
one of the stations in Liverpool, I hurried from the 
train and made my way back to the station, only to 
learn that my friend had gone to Stafford and that my 
portmanteau had been hurriedly thrown into the lug- 
gage van of the train I had just left. One man con- 
soled me by saying that I would have considerable 
difficulty in getting it and the chances were that I had 
seen the last of it. Fortunately my name and address 
were on the tag and after several telegrams had been 
sent to some of the stations along the line and to Lon- 
don, it came to me all intact at Northampton. I con- 
cluded if a "wee man" laid hands on my belongings he 



356 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD 

would have to take several reefs in them before he 
would be presentable. 

The crowd at the Waterloo station kept increasing, 
until I began to think our craft would be taxed to her 
utmost if she was to carry them all to the United 
States. As the time arrived for the train to depart 
for Southampton, there were some very affecting 
scenes as the friends on the platform bade adieu to 
some of those bound for the new world. 

"Write as soon as you land and don't forget us in 
your new home," was the charge given by those in 
tears as the train moved off and left them waving a 
good-bye. 

There was a celebrated Baptist clergyman form Bos- 
ton, Mass., in the compartment with me and also two 
gentlemen from Washington, D. C. We all soon en- 
gaged in conversation with each other, the drift of it 
being in reference to our trip through the old country 
and about our coming voyage. Each of us was cur- 
ious to know how old ocean would treat us. The 
clergyman had a fine, open face, which proved to be 
the true index of the warm, genial nature he possessed 
and Which was thoroughly appreciated by those who 
came to know him. 

On reaching Southampton, We found the landing a 
Very busy place. The sailors were engaged in lifting 
the great number of huge trunks into the hold of the 
immense steamer and the passengers were carefully 
seeing after their luggage that was marked "wanted," 
to make sure it reached their state room. When I 
saw the bachelor's tin trunk safely stowed away, I 
stepped aboard of the magnificent steamer, St. Louis, 
^ of the American line, with a great deal of faith in her 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD 357 

ability to convey me safe to the shores of America. 
While standing on the deck, the Baptist clergyman 
came up to me and, calling my attention to a lady 
with three little girls, said : 

"There is a sad sight. That lady is one of our for- 
eign missionaries and is sending her little girls over to 
our home for the children of our foreign missionaries. 
She does not expect to see them for at least seven 
years," and added : "Her husband, who is at present in 
America, will soon join her and then return to their 
field of labor." 

"Why don't they take the children with them?" I 
inquired. 

"Well, there are no educational advantages where 
they are laboring," he replied, "and while it is a severe 
trial for them to be separated from their children, yet 
they are willing to have it so in order to give them 
an education." 

When the huge whistle blew as the signal for the 
steamer to leave, the mother warmly embraced the 
girls and in turn the girls clung to the mother. Those 
that witnessed that parting scene will not soon forget 
it. Some of the passengers remarked that the little 
girls needed the attention of the mother more than 
any one in the foreign mission field. They were very 
bright, intelligent girls and soon became great fav- 
orites with many of the passengers. They each ex- 
pressed themselves as being anxious to prepare them- 
selves for mission work. Some one said to the 
younger one : 

"We will make a Yankee of you." 

"Oh, you con't do that ; I shall never be anything 
else but English," she replied. What a joy came to 



358 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD 

their young hearts when they caught sight of their 
father when our steamer came into the wharf at New 
York. This clergyman, who was interested in this 
home for foreign missionaries' children, had these 
little girls under his charge during the voyage. Quite 
often the children of the missionaries are separated 
from them for the sake of their health or educational 
advantages. While in Belfast I met two little boys 
who were sons of a missionary in Japan. They came 
entirely alone from that distant land to Belfast to 
finish their education in the Campbell College. 

I was curious to know what sort of lads were to share 
with me the comforts of my room. The first to put in 
an appearance was a young man just a trifle beyond 
his majority. He wore a very scant hat under which 
was a well rounded face, partially covered with what 
evidently was his first crop of whiskers. They re- 
minded me of corn silk peeping from the husk. 
When he discovered the post projecting from the cen- 
tre of his berth, he turned to me and said : 

"How do they think I am going to sleep in that 
berth?" 

"Well," I replied, "you will have to do so on the 
bias." He fretted and fumed until he ran the ther- 
mometer well up toward a hundred. When he left 
. the room, I concluded if he was a sample of the com- 
. ing room-mates, I would have to handle them care- 
. fully. 

As I was squaring my luggage away, the little man 
I met at the Paris Exposition entered the room, and 
to whom I have already referred. On our arrival at 
Cherbourg, France, a typical descendant of Abraham 
came into the room and placed his luggage in the 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD 359 

berth below mine. He was one of those men that 
needed no introduction. He had an abundance of 
tongue as well as a full-fledged proboscis. He, how- 
ever, proved to be a very pleasant and obliging young 
fellow, as did my other room-mates. We had consid- 
erable fun with the fellow who complained of the in- 
convenience of sleeping around a post. He was one 
of those men who enjoyed taking a joke,as well as 
giving one. One morning as we were leaning over 
our berths having a friendly chat, the Jew discovered 
that our young friend had disposed of his crop of whis- 
kers. 

"My goodness gracious," he said. "I wondered 
what made our steamer roll so last night. Why, we 
have lost some of our ballast. Our friend has cut off 
his whiskers." We made the little state-room ring 
with laughter at the Jew's funny remark. 

We had a great number of very excellent people on 
board. Among some with whom I became ac- 
quainted was an Episcopal clergyman and three Bap- 
tist and two Methodist clergymen, and also a Catholic 
priest. One of the Methodist ministers bore my full 
name. He was inclined to regard life very seriously 
and usually sat alone on deck in a very pensive mood, 
but it was owing to the rough treatment he received 
from Neptune. Dr. W — , one of the Baptist minis- 
ters, who resided in Chicago, was a huge bundle of 
fun and by his bright, genial manner won his way 
into the hearts of the passengers. One of the other 
ministers of the Baptist persuasion was a young man 
in company with his wife. They were from New Lib- 
erty, Ky. We found them exceptionally fine people. 
All the divines did their best to make the voyage a 



360 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD 

pleasant one for their fellow passengers. We also 
had several professional and business men who seemed 
to be at home on the bright side of life. Most of the 
passengers were American tourists who had been ab- 
sent from home for a few months. They expressed 
themselves as being very desirous of seeing Old Co r 
lumbia's shore. Among some of the very interesting 
characters was a widow, her daughter and son. They 
had been touring through the British Isles and quite 
extensively on the continent. She was the owner of 
a large sheep ranch in Wyoming, and we. were all con- 
vinced that she was well able to properly manage it. 
While they were not polished up as neatly as were 
many of the passengers, yet' they soon made their real 
worth known. The daughter said, in conversation, 
with some of us, that her mother at one time did not 
see a woman for about two years, as they lived a long 
distance from any family. The daughter had a fond- 
ness for poetry and entertained with her choice selec- 
tions those of us whose taste ran along that line. 
Her recitations, given at our concert, called forth 
heavy encores. 

One fellow from Dakota who, like myself, had been 
in the world quite awhile and had traveled along the 
road of life without a partner, went about among the 
passengers scattering sunshine. I styled him the 
"jolly old bachelor." When we were inclined to re- 
gard "a life on the ocean wave" too seriously he, by 
his witty and cheerful remarks, usually caused a smile 
to play on our faces. We had several young couples 
who spun threads of romance through their home- 
ward trip. They evidently did not mean to follow 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD 361 

the example of the several bachelors and as many ne- 
glected sisters that graced the ship's company. 

On Sabbath morning Dr. W — conducted service 
and in the afternoon the Episcopal clergyman held 
forth, but the attendance was very small, owing to 
the fact that very many were having dealings with 
Neptune. The writer was expecting to be raided by 
the old lad and trembled at times, being near the dan- 
ger line, but managed to escape. One evening the 
passengers crowded into the large saloon to listen to 
the mock trial. It was a divorce case and the parts 
were well taken. The Episcopal clergyman acted as 
judge. The ladies secured some very ancient looking 
clothing for the lad who took the part of "Mary 
Brown," which greatly amused the audience. The 
whole thing was over on the funny side and all 
during the trial there were roars of laughter that 
nearly broke up the court. The next evening we held 
a concert. They arranged a very lengthy program, 
and some of the talent for length was in keeping with 
the program, especially so when a tall Yankee bach- 
elor with an autoharp came out and sang an original 
piece, entitled "My Dear Old Home," with the chorus 
"Home, Sweet Home," in which that large audience 
joined and sang lustily. 

This was the most enjoyable of all my ocean trips. 
The weather was very fine most of the time and our 
steamer, for comfort and convenience, was all that 
could be desired. We received excellent service and 
the officers and crew, were fine, obliging men and 
seemed to study the comfort of the passengers. If the 
reader is anticipating an ocean voyage and has a 
heavy bank account, and wishes to go first cabin, he 



362 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD 

will find this steamer fitted up in a magnificent man- 
ner, and if his account is somewhat limited and he pre- 
fers to take up his quarters in the second cabin, he will 
find splendid accommodation. My first trip by the 
American line from Philadelphia was also a very sat- 
isfactory one. 

When the lights from the shores of America flashed 
out over the dark waves, a feeling of joy thrilled the 
heart of every Yankee on that noble craft. I felt quite 
sure as the pleased look played over the faces of- the 
Yankee passengers as we steamed up the New York 
harbor, that they were all in full accord with the poet : 
"There's no place like home." 

"All come to the saloon and make your declaration,'* 
shouted one of the ship's crew. We found it rather a 
trying ordeal that hot August day as we slowly 
wended our way to one of the custom house officials 
and made our statement as to whether we had any- 
thing dutiable in our "bundles." There was a general 
complaint of the slow system compared to that on the 
other side of the Atlantic. One man near me said : 

"I believe in high tariff, but not in this unreasonable 
way of levying a duty on a few gifts I have for my 
friends." 

But there was nothing to be done but to fall in line 
with Uncle Sam's way of doing business. After go- 
ing through with the saloon ordeal, then we formed 
in line and in single file made our way to the desk of 
the officer in charge on the wharf. I concluded be- 
fore reaching him that it was necessary to have the 
grace of patience. On presenting our compliments 
to the officer he turned us over to the inspector of the 
section of which our check indicated. The only fa- 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD 365 

miliar face I saw on coming on the wharf was Mr. A. 
Hewitt, of Belfast, who had landed the week previous, 
and at whose home in Belfast I had spent many pleas- 
ant evenings with his excellent father and mother and 
their three sons, of whom they could well be proud. 
When, by his assistance, my luggage was in readiness 
to be examined, I said to the good natured inspector : 
"Come and look over the belongings of a bachelor.'* 
He smiled as he saw my tin trunk, which had been 
badly battered during the voyage and which had been 
very hurriedly packed. 

"Shall I lift the contents of the trunk?" I asked. 

"Oh, no," he said, as he gathered up a few articles 
that I felt quite sure were not dutiable. He seemed 
to be satisfied with my willingness to turn my little 
all over for inspection, and gave my luggage the clear- 
ance mark. 

After bidding adieu to several of my fellow passen- 
gers, I made my way to Courtland street and was soon 
speeding away from the great metropolis to the grand 
old city of Philadelphia. On the arrival of the writer 
to the "Bachelor's Sanctum," he found his purse a 
"wee bit" lighter than when he left, but he was rich in 
his experience of fourteen months in the British Isles, 
most of which was spent on the Old Sod. 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD 365 



Epftapbs Copied from Some of tbe ©lo Cburcb 
IParos in England 



"This world's a city full of crooked streets: 
Death is a market place where all men meet. 
If life was merchandise that men could 'buy 
The rich would live and the poor would die." 

"Oh, bring no price, God's grace is free, 
To Paul, to Magdalene, and me." 

"Death comes in unexpected forms 

At unexpected hours; 
To-morrow we may never see, 

To-day alone is ours. 
'Tis well sometimes to recollect 

How fast our moments fly, 
And never while we live forget 

How soon We, too, may die." 

"Oh, cruel death, how could you be so unkind 
To take him before and leave me behind; 
Why not take 'both of us if either, 
Which would have been more pleasing to the survivor. 

"Farewell, vain world, I've had enough of thee, 
And now am careless what thou sayest of me. 
Thy smiles I count not, nor thy frowns I fear,- 
Thy cares are past, my head lies quiet here. 
What faults you saw in me take care to shun 
And look at home, enough there to be done." 



366 A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD 

"He is not dead, the child of our affection, 

But gone to that school 
Where he no longer needs our poor protection, 

And Christ Himself doth rule. 



"She was truly amiable and exemplary as a wife, mother 
and friend. Her virtues too rare for even her children to 
hope to inherit." 

Here lies a woman, good without pretense, 
Blest with plain reason and sober sense, 
So unaffected, so composed a mind, 
So firm yet soft, so strong yet so resigned; 
Heaven has its purest gold by torture tried; 
The saint sustained it, but the woman died." 

"The Christian navigates a sea 

Where various forms of death appear 
No skill, alas, or power has he 

Aright his dangerous course to steer. 
His distant land he sometimes sees, 

And thinks his toils will soon be o'er. 
Expects some favorable breez 

Will waft him to that shore." 

"Life is short 

And death is sure 
Sin's the wound 

And Christ the cure." 

"To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die." 

"While earth-born beauty fades and di es 

In darkness deep as midnight air, 
The white-winged spirit scales the ski es 

And lives in golden rapture there." 



A YANKEE BACHELOR ABROAD 367 

"She was, but words are wanting to say what, 
Say what a woman ought to he and she was that." 

"Bold infidelity turn pale and die, 
Under this stone an infant's ashes lie. 

Say, is it saved or lost? 
If death by sin, it sinned, for it lies here; 
If heaven hy works in heaven it can't appear. 

Ah, Reason! how depraved. 
'Review the Bible's sacred page. The knot's untied, 
It died through Adam; it lives, for Jesus died. 

"This turf has drunk a widow's tears. 
Three of her husbands slumber." 



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BINDERY INC. 

Sk JUN85 

_ N. MANCHESTER, 

§^ INDIANA 46962 




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